Chen Ying-chu finishes 5th in 500m speed skating at Asian Winter Games

Taipei, Feb. 9 (CNA) Taiwan speed skater Chen Ying-chu (陳映竹) placed fifth in the women's 500-meter speed skating event at the 2025 Asian Winter Games on Sunday.

Competing at the HIC Speed Skating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 38.88 seconds in the race after making a mistake when exiting a turn and losing her early lead from the first 100 meters.

She finished behind South Korean sprint skaters Kim Minsun and Lee Nahyun, as well as Tian Ruining (田芮寧) and Wang Jingziqian (王婧紫仟) of China.

The times for the top four athletes were 38.24 seconds, 38.33 seconds, 38.57 seconds and 38.87 seconds.

Chen made history the previous day as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games, finishing third in the women's 100-meter speed skating event in 10.51 seconds.

The 2025 Games mark Chen's debut at the event, after winning six medals at roller speed skating world championships before transitioning to speed skating in 2023 to pursue her Olympic dream.

In addition to the 100-meter and 500-meter events, Chen is set to compete in the women's 1,000-meter on Tuesday.

The 2025 Asian Winter Games features 1,270 athletes from 34 countries, including 67 from Taiwan.