Chinese speed skater Gao Tingyu at the ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland Photo: Sina Weibo

Chinese speed skater Gao Tingyu won his first World Cup gold on Saturday at the ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland by finishing the men's 500m with a record crushing time.

The 23-year-old skater set a new track record by finishing the event in 34.265 seconds. 

"I'm very excited about my first World Cup gold," Gao told media after the competition. 

Japan's Tatsuya Shinhama and Canada' Laurent Dubreuil placed at second and third respectively in the extremely competitive 500m event, in which the first 10 skaters all finished in around 34 seconds. 

"The track feels very different today from previous practice days when it was colder, but today it feels warmer, and the ice is smoother and much faster than expected. My original goal was to beat so many top players with around 34.5 seconds. I am very excited," said Gao. 

The Poland stop is a qualifying event for the upcoming Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. 

"But the main goal this season is to make it to the podium at the Beijing Olympic Winter Games," Gao added. 

Before winning his first gold, Gao had already shown his talent for the sport at the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games by winning a bronze medal.  

Gao's new World Cup title is also a gift to his coach, Li Yan, who won China's first Olympic medal in short-track speed skating in 1992 and was recently designated to be the head coach of China's speed skating team at the 2022 Games. 

"I also took part in domestic competitions. In the following events in Norway, the US and Canada, I'll try to pin down the quota for the Olympic Winter Games and strive to stand on the Beijing Olympic Winter Games podium," said Gao. 

Moving on from the Poland stop, the Chinese team will compete overseas for another 40 days.