China’s Ren Ziwei (right) fell short of securing a third short track gold for China, after he was disqualified from the men’s 1,500 meters short track final on Wednesday. Photo: VCG

Ren was penalized for an arm block in the semifinals of the race Wednesday, leading to his early exit from the event. Photo: VCG

Skaters compete during the semifinals. Photo: VCG

Ren maneuvers around a turn during the quarterfinals Wednesday. Photo: VCG

Hungary’s Shaolin Sandor Liu (top right) refreshed the Olympic record in men’s 1,500 meters with a time of two minutes and 9.213 seconds in the quarterfinals. Photo: IC Photo

Lee June-seo of South Korea (left), Pascal Dion of Canada and Hungary’s Liu compete during the Men’s 1,500 meter semifinal. Photo: VCG

Athletes navigate a turn during the finals Wednesday night. Photo: VCG

South Korea’s Hwang (left) crosses the finish line to take the gold medal ahead of runner-up Steven Dubois from Canada and Russia’s Semen Elistratov, who finished third. Photo: IC Photo

South Korea’s victory in the 1,500 meters short track final is the country’s first gold medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Photo: IC Photo