SOCHI, February 21 (R-Sport) – Less than an hour after winning Sochi Olympic short track gold in the 500m, Viktor Ahn led Russia to victory in the 5,000m relay to round off an incredible night's action for the home crowd.
The Russian lineup of Ahn, Vladimir Grigorev, Semen Elistratov and Rulan Zakharov posted a winning time of 6:42.1 minutes, crushing the Olympic record.
The United States claimed silver, 0.271 seconds back, while China got the bronze a full six seconds adrift after 500m silver medalist Wu Dajing fell at the very start of the race.
"This has been the best experience of my sporting career and I will never forget Sochi," Ahn said. "Before the competitions started, I just wanted to concentrate on doing my best and show what I could be on the Olympic stage."
The result rounded off a barely believable evening at the Iceberg Skating Palace in his adopted home nation for Ahn. The 28-year-old looked down and out of the 500m race after a terrible start, but overtook two skaters as a third crashed out to claim a fifth short track gold medal.
Then came the relay: Russia, United States and Kazakhstan were left to decide the medals after Wu fell along with the Netherlands' Freek Van Der Wart. Russia and America ran neck-and-neck until seven laps from the finish, when the home nation got a pace ahead and held the advantage to the line.
"I'm very happy we were able to win a medal as a team. I wanted one thing tonight, which was for all of us to be smiling together," Ahn said.
For Ahn it was a record sixth Olympic gold, sealing his place in history as short track's greatest male skater and throws him up into the league of elite medal collectors: Only Norwegian biathletes Ole Einar Bjoerndalen and Bjorn Daehlie have won more, with eight.
Ahn, 28, adds the 500m gold to the 1,000m title and 1,500m bronze he won earlier in the Games, becoming the first man to complete the golden set in all four disciplines. The third gold in Sochi matches his best performance at Olympics.
Ahn had already became one of the sport's all-time greats as a competitor for his native South Korea, where he was known as Ahn Hyun-Soo, winning 20 world championship gold medals and three Olympic titles in Turin in 2006.
After reportedly falling out with Korean coaches he switched allegiances to Russia in 2011, getting citizenship in 2012 and switching his first name to Viktor for its triumphant meaning.
"I'm happy to have tied the record for medals in short track - and I'm even happier to have done it as a Russian," Ahn said.
Friday's race also saw a second medal and first gold at the Sochi Games for Ahn's teammate Vladimir Grigorev. The 31-year-old skater finished second behind Ahn in the 1,000m.
The Americans were represented by Eduardo Alvarez, J.R. Celski, Chris Creveling and Jordan Malone.
