Chinese speed skating Olympic gold medalist Zhang Hong captured the bronze medal in the Women's 500-meter event of the 2016 International Skating Union (ISU) World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships held at the Kolomna Speed Skating Center in Kolomna, Russia from Feb. 11 to 14.

Like Us on Facebook

The 27-year-old Zhang clocked in at a combined two-run time of 75.688 seconds to settle for the bronze while Brittany Bowe of the United States snatched the silver with a time of 75.663 seconds, as per Xinhuanet. South Korea's two-time Olympic champion Lee Sang-hwa claimed the gold medal with a track record of 74.859 seconds.

Zhang, who was the first Chinese to ever win an Olympic gold medal in speed skating, was able to post the second-fastest time during the event's first run, but she stumbled in the second run as she could only finish in third place.

Meanwhile, it was the third world title for the 26-year-old South Korean speed skater after winning the golds in the same event in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

Zhang captured the gold in the 1000-meter event during the Sochi Games.

Shanghai Daily noted that Lee, who is the current world record holder in the distance at 36.36 seconds, "has been Zhang's arch rival and it was her first world championships in three years". She previously won in the same tournaments in 2012 and 2013 held in Heerenveen and Sochi respectively.

Zhang and Lee entered the said competition tied with "four ISU World Cup titles" each, but the Heilongjiang, China native leads the latter in World Cup points, 690 to 680, as the former had more podium finishes this season.

Zhang, who is one of China's most popular winter sports athletes, is the current record holder of the Chinese records for both the 500 and 1000 meter categories of the said sport. She recently grabbed three gold medals in the 13th China National Winter Games last month, winning in the 500, 1000, and 1500 meter events.

TagsChina sports, speed skating, Zhang Hong, Brittany Bowe, Lee Sang-hwa