“I had a great start, but I held the lead for a little too long, I think,” Smith said. “But I’m really happy about the way things turned out.”
The victory was sweet redemption for Gagnon, who had fallen in the 500 finals in his previous two Olympics.
“It’s the end of a journey,” he said. “I still can’t believe it.”
Gagnon is the second male short tracker to win three gold medals, having also won the relay gold at Nagano. He has five Olympic medals overall, more than anyone else in the sport.
Ohno was the main attraction for Saturday’s events. Whole rows of fans wore Ohno “soul patches” on their chins. U.S. figure skating champion Michelle Kwan was on hand to hold up a sign reading “Oh Yes Ohno!” to the delight of the crowd.
Ohno’s run at four Olympic medals ended in the semifinals of the 500. He struggled throughout the evening, having to come from behind to barely earn second place in both his preliminary and quarterfinal heats. In the semifinals, he came out slow again and trailed Guilmette and Japan’s Satoru Terao throughout the race.
Ohno tried to accelerate past the two leaders as they approached the final lap, but they left him with no room to pass. He made a desperate move to pull in behind Guilmette, but Terao beat him to the turn. The two collided, and Terao was sent crashing into the boards.
The collision slowed down Ohno to the point where he finished third in the race. But he was later disqualified altogether for impeding Terao. Ohno simply smiled and stepped off the ice, while Terao was awarded a free pass to the finals.
“I was waiting, waiting for an opportunity to pass,” Ohno said. “The Japanese guy was wide on the corner and I came up on him. I barely touched him. He’s so light. I think he was going down already.”
Despite going without a medal on his final evening, Ohno remained upbeat. Only the media’s inflated expectations would allow his two Olympic medals to be considered a failure. The three medals from the 2002 U.S. team were still more than any Americans in short-track speed-skating’s 10-year Olympic history.
“I came here, and I did an excellent job,” Ohno said. “So many people supported me. All my friends and family in the stands, and that’s just and unbelievable feeling. My first Games and I got two medals…there’s nothing better than that.”