Tatiana Borodulina has narrowly missed a spot in the women's 1000m short track speed skating final at the Pacific Coliseum tonight.

In a nail-biting quarter-final, Borodulina edged her skate over the line, a photo finish proving she came second, securing a place in the semi-final.

The Russian-born Aussie drew a hot semi, facing off against three strong skaters with four Olympic medals between them from these Games.

It was China’s Zhou Yang who dominated the race, winning in 1:29.049, smashing the world record on the way.

Borodulina looked strong in the race but did not have enough in the tank. Korean skater Seung-Hi Park pushed into second place and Borodulina was unable to catch her, missing a spot in the A-final and a chance of a medal.

“I gave it my best,” Borodulina said after the race. “I was very close to making the final. I tried so hard, I gave it all I could.”

A cold consolation for Borodulina was that her time of 1:29.663 broke the Olympic record and was the third fastest qualifying time across both semi-finals and would have scored her a finals berth in the other race. Such is the harsh nature of the short track.

"The 1000 has never been my strongest race but to go so close to making an Olympic final is pretty good," Borodulina said. "Although I am disappointed I did not make it."

Alice Wheeler
AOC - Vancouver