Day 13 of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics was a huge night for China as it was one of the country's last chances to claim a gold medal in South Korea. With Beijing hosting the next edition of the Winter Olympics in 2022, the pressure to top the podium in at least one event was very high. 

On Thursday night, the Gangneung Ice Arena played host to three short track speed skating events, the men's 500 meters, the men's 5,000 meters relay, and the women's 1,000 meters. China's best discipline is short track, with 31 of their 60 medals at the Winter Games coming in this exciting and unpredictable ice race. However, this year's task was not made any easier, as South Korea is the only country to have won more all-time medals than China in short track. The stands had their share of Chinese supporters waving flags and chanting, but could their athletes finally break through?

In the men's 500m, the odds were certainly in China's favor with three skaters from the country in the quarter-finals – Han Tianyu, Ren Ziwei, plus the world number one in the distance, Wu Dajing, who set a new Olympic record in the heats. In the first quarter-final, Ren led from the beginning and flew around the track to finish first, beating Wu's Olympic record in the process. In the second quarter-final, Wu lined up on the pole position inside and got off to a great start, immediately distancing himself from his pursuers who could only fight for second place as Wu set a new World Record of 38.800 seconds – a blistering pace that beat the old mark which had stood for six years and sent a clear warning to the rest of the field. Both Ren and Wu reached the semi-finals in spectacular fashion, but Han was unable to follow as he crashed out in the third quarter-final.

Next up would be the women's 1,000m with China's 17-year-old surprise silver medalist from the 1,500m, Li Jinyu, and her compatriot Qu Chunyu, both in the quarter-finals. Li would come up a few inches short in her race to finish third which meant she failed to advance, while Qu would snag second in her race to reach the semi-final. There, Qu was penalized for impeding, resulting in her disqualification and ending China's chances in the event.

Then it was back to the men for the semi-finals of the 500m. Once again, Wu jumped out to a great start and would not be caught, cruising across the finish line in first place to book his spot in the final. Ren would not be able to join him as he was passed by two S. Koreans and ended up third, eliminating him from the final. 

That meant the hopes of more than one billion Chinese rested on the shoulders of the 24-year-old from Heilongjiang Province, Wu Dajing. The tension in the arena was palpable and when the starting gun sounded, Wu reacted fastest to burst ahead of his rivals and take the lead into the first turn. And just as he had done in all of his previous races this evening, Wu would continue to pull away leaving the others no chance. Wu would raise his arms in triumph as he crossed the finish line in an incredible 39.584 seconds to set his second world record of the night and claim the gold medal that China was so earnestly seeking. Wu added gold to the bronze and silver he won in Sochi in 2014.