Wu Dajing clocked a world record on Thursday en route to winning the short track speed skating men's 500 meters for China's first gold medal of the Pyeongchang Olympics.

Wu, the 2014 Sochi Olympic 500 silver medalist, flew past the line at Gangneung Ice Arena in 39.584 seconds. South Korea's Hwang Dae Heon and Lim Hyo Jun won silver and bronze, respectively.

"Today, I didn't give my competitors a chance, and I kept my speed from the start. More importantly, I think I believed in myself," Wu said.

"I'm very emotional and happy to have won China's first gold here and I look forward to Beijing 2022."

In the quarterfinals, China's Ren Ziwei, who finished sixth, set a 40.032 Olympic record only to be later upstaged by his compatriot.

In the second-tier "B" final, Japan's Ryosuke Sakazume had a disappointing last run and finished eighth overall. He advanced to the semifinals after two skaters crashed in his four-man quarterfinal. His compatriot Keita Watanabe failed to advance past his quarterfinal.

South Korean-born defending champion Viktor Ahn, who now competes for Russia, was banned from the games due to fallout from the Sochi doping scandal.

Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands won the women's 1,000 ahead of silver medalist Kim Boutin of Canada, a bronze medalist in both the 500 and 1,500. Italy's 500-meter gold medalist Arianna Fontana was third, after South Korean fans watched their favorites crash out.

World record holder Shim Suk Hee crashed into compatriot Choi Min Jeong when both attempted to pass the leading trio on a corner in the final lap and was disqualified. Choi finished fourth.

Japan's Hitomi Saito finished fourth in her quarterfinal.

The curtain came down on the day's competition with Hungary skating to men's 5,000 relay gold in an Olympic record of 6:31.971. China earned silver, while Canada took the bronze.

Shaoang Liu and his older brother, 23-year-old Shaolin Sandor Liu, teamed up with Viktor Knoch and Csaba Burjan to earn Hungary's first medal at these games.

Japan's team of Watanabe, Sakazume, Kazuki Yoshinaga and Hiroki Yokoyama suffered a crash and finished last in the three-team "B" final.

"This season, we had been quite good in the relay," Sakazume said. "We haven't had many falls this season, and having fallen here and ruining things really demands an apology."