Local hero Yun-Sung Bin took the gold medal by a huge margin of 1.6 seconds to amid rapturous scenes, with Russian Nikita Tregubov (competing under the Olympic flag after the Russian team was banned for doping offences, including in skeleton events) securing bronze and Dominic Parsons of Great Britain in the bronze medal position.
Martins Dukurs finished fourth with Tomass fifth, meaning that for multiple world champion Martins in particular, competing in his fourth Olympics, a gold medal remains elusive despite winning two silvers and according to LTV's team in PyeongChang, he has hinted that he is unlikely to participate in the next Olympic competition, where he would be 37 years old.
Nevertheless he took the disappointment with dignity, saying: "It's a painful day, a painful journey, perhaps one of the most painful [of my career]... It was clear in the last round that there would be nothing doing. Four years of hard work with one goal, but this can be a cruel sport."
Meanwhile there were also mixed fortunes for young figure skater Deniss Vasilijevs from Daugavpils, competing in his first Olympic competition. The 18-year-old put in a good performance in the short program but it was sadly marred by a fall while attempting an ambitious jump. He wound up in 21st place and needless to say would otherwise have ranked much higher. The competition continues with the freestyle program tomorrow.
You can see the full official schedule of Latvian competitors HERE.
