MILAN, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- China's Lian Ziwen said his collision with Dutchman Joep Wennemars in Wednesday's men's 1,000m speed skating at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics was unintentional.
Lian, who had been in the inner lane when the incident happened, was disqualified following it, while Wennemars was allowed to re-skate and eventually finished fifth.
Under the sport's rules, skaters in the crossover straight must swap lanes, with the one moving from the inner to outer lane responsible for not hindering the skater transitioning from the outer to inner lane.
"When coming out of the curve, I knew we were very close, but I didn't see him either beside me or ahead of me," Lian told Xinhua after the race.
"If that had been the case, I would have yielded," he said, adding that due to the scenario, he continued to accelerate out of the turn.
"I wasn't trying to block him on purpose or anything like that. No athlete would deliberately try to block another," Lian added.
Following the collision, both skaters lost speed but managed to cross the finish line.
"My blade was damaged, and neither of us skated well after that," he said, noting that it was the first time he had experienced such an incident in competition.
Lian revealed Wennemars struck him once in the heat of the moment, and he chose to remain restrained. "I said sorry to him. I'll speak with him about this race once he calms down."
"I won't dwell on what happened today. The result can't be changed," Lian said. "I'll stay focused on what's ahead." ■
