Chinese speed skater Ning Zhongyan competes in the men's 1,500 meters final at the Beijing Winter Olympics on February 8, 2022. Photo: Li Hao/Global Times

After bagging two gold medals in World Cup events, Chinese young speed skater Ning Zhongyan placed seventh in the men's 1,500 meters on Tuesday evening's competition in Beijing on his Olympic debut.

Ning finished his run with a time of 1:45.28, followed by two other Chinese speed skaters Wang Haotian, with a time of 1:47.13 to rank in 20th place, and Lian Ziwen's 1:49.15, placing him 27th out of 29 skaters. 

"I'm just so looking forward to the Beijing Olympic Winter Games and want to show the world the power I've got," Ning said in an interview before the Beijing Games began. 

Ever since he was admitted to the national team in 2018, sports fans have considered the 22-year-old to have good potential in speed skating after claiming top spots in world tour events. 

He won the men's 1,500 meters final at the speed skating World Cup leg in Stavanger, Norway in November 2021, and claimed his first World Cup 1,000 meters gold in Calgary, Canada a month later.

In January 2022, Ning, as a member of the China delegation for the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022, stood with others in Tiananmen Square in Beijing to watch the flag-raising ceremony in the morning.

"I was so lucky to attend the ceremony and I felt a sense of mission watching the ­national flag reach the top. Go for it ­Beijing 2022!" Ning said on social media after the ceremony.

Speed skater Kjeld Nuis from the Netherlands broke the Olympic record to win the event with a time of 1:43.21 to retain his Olympic title, minutes after his teammate Thomas Krol broke the record with 1:43:55.

Nuis is also the world record holder in the discipline, at 1:40.17.