Reporter’s Diary: There can only be one winner

World
Europe

It was billed as the night when China stood its best chance for a gold medal at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

The Gangneung Ice Arena – a swirl of pink, purple, and blue light on the outside – was dangling gold on the inside for the Short Track Ladies 3,000-meter relay final.

China, ranked number two in the world, would give their all to topple the top-ranked team, South Korea, competing in front of a super-charged home crowd.

The other two finalists were the world’s number fifth and sixth ranked nations, Canada and Italy.

What happened instead, for Chinese fans at least, was a night of confusion, shock, sadness and the realization that heading into Day 12, with only five days remaining, China is still without a gold medal.

Team China's member Fan Kexin (front L) and team South Korea's Choi Min-jeong (front R) compete during ladies' 3,000m relay final of short track speed skating at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, Feb. 20, 2018. /Xinhua Photo

The founder of the modern Olympic Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, never designed the Games to be about winning. It was about the taking part, about the struggle of doing your best.

But with multi-billion dollar television rights deals negotiated each four years, beaming the events into households around the world, and the advent of a medal tally reminding audiences globally who is winning and who isn’t, it’s brought us to this – where we forget to celebrate that every athlete at the Games has come to do his or her best.

None come here to fail. Yet often, if they do anything less than win, they are criticized publicly and privately.

But in every race, in every event, there can be only one winner.

Add to that the notorious nature of a sport like speed skating, and then multiply that by four as the individual race makes way for a team relay.

It’s frenetic and frantic.

It was in one of the last changes where something went wrong.

A thrilling race that lasts a little over four minutes saw the skaters jostling hard for position – there was no doubt it was a race to the title between South Korea and China.

The visitors led for most of the race but some remarkable quick thinking and a final push by the hosts saw South Korea sneak in front as both competitors used their all to fly to the finish line in a desperate bid for the prize both craved, yet only one could claim.

Most of those watching were on their feet, including many of the working media.

The giant screen in the venue flashed the notification "photo finish."

Judges check video record after ladies' 3,000m relay final of short track speed skating at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, Feb. 20, 2018. /Xinhua Photo

As the technical delegates and judges gathered on the side of the rink and began reviewing the replay video frame by frame, both the Chinese and Korean teams grabbed their nations' flags to skate around the rink in celebration.

But something was wrong.

China’s coach Li Yan sensed it immediately.

The longer the judges judged, the heavier her face became.

Then this...China and Canada were both penalized. A penalty in Short Track is not like a penalty in other sports.

A penalty in Short Track means you’re disqualified.

China was out. So was Canada.

The gold medal belonged to South Korea. The crowd went wild.

Members of team South Korea celebrate after finishing ladies' 3,000m relay final of short track speed skating at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, Feb. 20, 2018. /Xinhua Photo

China’s hearts sank.

Even some working media didn’t wait for the analysis or bother recording their stories for the audience. They simply packed up and left.

It seemed an eternity before any of the Chinese Team exited the venue for the short trip back to the Olympic Village.

A trip no doubt without conversation. A trip where individuals would sit and contemplate what could have been.

The athletes, and their coach, will relive this race over and over in their minds, trying to understand how it all went so horribly wrong and trying to find ways to guarantee a different outcome, at home, in four years time.

Defeat is agony.

For some, the chance for Olympic glory comes only once.

A lifetime is spent preparing for a four-minute race that will impact the rest of the athletes' lives.

Congratulations to South Korea.

Commiserations to China.

This is the Olympic Games. There can only be one winner.