China's Ning Zhongyan delivered a sensational performance to win the men's 1,500 metres at the Winter Olympics on Thursday, capturing his and his nation's first speed skating gold at these Games.

The U.S. speedskater was favored in the 1,500 m but was bested by China's Ning Zhongyan

Chinese speed skater Ning Zhongyan beat the odds, upending pre-race favourite Jordan Stolz of the United States to win the men’s Olympic 1,500 metres in an Olympic-record one minute 41.98 seconds on Thursday.

China's Ning Zhongyan delivered a sensational performance to win the men's 1,500 metres at the Winter Olympics on Thursday, capturing ⁠his and the nation's first speed skating gold at these Games. American Jordan Stolz claimed silver,

After a string of near-misses, China's Ning Zhongyan finally struck gold on Thursday, stunning favourite Jordan Stolz and two-times defending champion Kjeld Nuis to win the men's 1,500 metres at the Winter Olympics - a result he conceded he was still struggling to believe.

Su Yiming sat in the snow at the bottom of the snowboarding course, tears rolling down his cheeks. So close to winning China its first gold at the Milan Cortina Games, he still had a long wait to endure.