VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Champaign native Katherine Reutter held the world record in the short-track 500 meters Wednesday night.
Briefly.
Reutter held the world record for less than five minutes after winning her quarterfinal heat in a record 43.834 seconds.
But the Centennial grad failed to advance out of the semis to set up a showdown with new record-holder Wang Meng of China, who blazed to the gold medal in 43.048. Meng’s semifinal time was 42.985.
“Going into the first race I said to myself ‘I want to set an Olympic record,’ and I did,” Reutter said. “From now on I can say I was an Olympic record-holder.”
In the final, Wang crossed the finish line well ahead, sticking both her arms out. She quickly grabbed a Chinese flag and skated around the rink, shouting, “Woo!”
Reutter, who started slow and was fourth in her semifinal, ended up finishing third in the “B” final in 44.846.
“My goal tonight was to make it to the final and I didn’t, but I could have raced better,” Reutter said.
Reutter next takes to the ice Saturday in the 1,500 in her bid for Olympic glory.
“The 1,500 is my best event anyway, so bring it on,” she said.
Reutter also skates next Wednesday in the 3,000-meter relay finals and Feb. 26 in the 1,000.
Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services