Exclusive: Meet Wu Dajing – the Chinese skater who made history at PyeongChang

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China's star skater Wu Dajing won gold in the men’s 500 meters on Thursday, setting a world record time of 39.584 seconds, beating South Korea’s Hwang Dae-heon and winning the first gold for Team China at PyeongChang 2018.

Wu, the Sochi 2014 silver medalist, clocked 39.8 seconds in the quarterfinal, 0.137 off the previous record set by American John Celski in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in 2012.

The 23-year-old Wu started skating at the age of 10 in 2004 and entered China’s national team in 2010.

China's Wu Dajing celebrates gold at the finish line in the men's 500m short track speed skating A final event during the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games, at Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung, Feb. 22, 2018. /VCG Photo‍

In 2013, he won silver in the men’s 500 meters at the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating event in Sochi.

In 2014, he won gold in the men’s 500 meters at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships.

In the same year, he was presented with the May 4th Youth Medal. The award is the highest honor for young people in the People's Republic of China.

In 2015, he defended the men’s 500 meters championship at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships.

In 2017, at the eighth Asian Winter Games, he won gold in the men’s 5,000 meters short track speed skating relay and men’s 500 meters. He also grabbed silver in men’s 1,500 meters.

In 2017, he won gold in the men’s 500 meters and men’s 1,000 meters at the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating event in Shanghai.