Japan's Wataru Morishige won speed skating bronze in the Beijing Olympics men's 500 meters on Saturday.
Morishige crossed in 34.49 seconds, finishing third behind Chinese gold medalist Gao Tingyu, who skated an Olympic record 34.32. Cha Min Kyu of South Korea took silver to make it an all-Asian podium at the National Speed Skating Oval.
"I'm really happy because I was able to demonstrate my power and do what I wanted to do," said Morishige.
"While there were three of us (from Japan) who were said to be medal contenders, I was skating with the thought any of us could do it and am relieved to be the one."
Tatsuya Shinhama was tipped to challenge for gold, but the Japanese appeared to stumble in the first few strides of the race and was quickly out of the running. He finished 20th in 35.12.
"I don't understand why I made that mistake at that moment," said Shinhama. "I want to make corrections and make the best of those failures when I take on the 1,000 on the 18th."
Yuma Murakami, Japan's other skater in the race, finished eighth in 34.57.
Morishige's medal is the first for Japan in the men's 500 since Keiichiro Nagashima won silver and Joji Kato bronze at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
Earlier in the evening, defending gold medalist Japan set an Olympic record time en route to advancing from the quarterfinals in women's team pursuit.
The three-woman team of Ayano Sato, Miho Takagi and her older sister Nana Takagi set a blistering 2-minute, 53.61-second time, cutting 0.28 second off the trio's record set at the Pyeongchang Games four years ago.
Canada and the Netherlands advanced from their quarterfinals with the second and third fastest times, respectively, and will now face off in the semifinals.
The Russian Olympic Committee ranked fourth to set up a final-four showdown with Japan, which is aiming to become the second team to win two straight Olympic gold medals in the event.
Miho Takagi is looking to bounce back from Monday's shock defeat to Ireen Wust over 1,500 meters, with the Dutchwoman also racing this event.
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