Speed Skater Joep Wennemars Left Furious After Being Denied Olympic Record

An incident involving Joep Wennemars and Lian Ziwen in the men's speed skating 1000m final will go down as one of the most controversial moments of this year's Winter Olympics.

Team USA's Jordan Stolz broke the Olympic record by nine-tenths of a second on Wednesday to secure 1000m speed skating gold.

Stolz, who made history with a time of 1:06.28, was forced to wait on the sidelines as Dutch skater Joep Wennemars, the son of former world champion Erben Wennemars, was given the chance to re-skate on his own.

But ultimately, it was too late for Wennemars, who endured an incredibly frustrating evening at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium.

In fact, given his impressive form at the Games, the 23-year-old might have just broken the Olympic record had it not been for an unfortunate incident involving China's Lian Ziwen.

So, what happened? As seen in the footage below, the pair were heading for the line when a touch of skates prevented Wennemars from making a strong finish.

Joep Wennemars was furious with Lian Ziwen after the collision. Image credit: Getty

It was described as a "disaster" by TNT Sports commentator Carlton Kirby.

"That was an absolute nightmare for him. What a shame," said Kirby. "He must have believed he could have got there. Surely that would have been the Olympic record for Wennemars, and I think he knows it."

Wennemars was understandably furious about the way his race ended and could be seen waving his arms in the direction of Ziwen.

"What drama. He's issuing his frustration here to Lian," Kirby added. "It's all part of the game, you've got to learn to live with it, but it can be a very bitter thing to taste. Oh my goodness. What a nightmare."

Eventually, the Chinese athlete was deemed to have made his transition too early and was disqualified from the contest.

Wennemars, meanwhile, was given the chance to re-skate after being blocked on his initial attempt but with the ice in poor condition, the Dutchman failed to improve and remained in fifth place with a time of 1:07.58.

Weenmars' compatriot Jenning De Boo claimed the silver medal, while China's Ning Zhongyan secured third.

Thoughts on the incident? Let us know in the comments.