Canadian media question whether Chinese skater deliberately took out fellow competitor: ‘Truly Olympic level cheat’

Chinese skater is being accused of flicking a marker in skates of Canadian competitor

In the latest controversy to hit the Beijing Winter Olympics, questions are being raised about alleged foul play by a Chinese skater during a race on Monday.

Chinese skater Fan Kexin is being accused of flicking a marker placed on the ice rink into the skates of Canadian competitor Alyson Charles during the chaotic quarterfinal of the women’s 500-metre race.

The video from a women’s short-track speed skating competition has been viewed more than three million times just hours after being posted on Reddit and led to a flurry of comments raising questions.

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The suspect act came midway through the last lap when the Chinese skater was trailing at the last spot in the video.

Fan, 28, then reached over the leg of another skater and appeared to swipe the marker forward into the skates of Charles, 23.

The Canadian skater tripped and fell on the ice rink, in the controversial conclusion to the race that left many challenging the legitimacy of the result.

“Recheck the video footage… it’s was the Chinese competitor who flicks the marker into the path of the Alyson Charles, not Florence… she doesn’t actually touch it in any way… Fan’s arm is in front of of Florence obstructing then hits the marker with her hand then flicks it,” Glen Molloy, a Twitter user said.

A Canadian sports reporter for Daily Hive, Rob Williams, asked on Twitter whether it was a “sabotage or incidental contact?”

“The slow motion replay from this morning’s short track speed skating event looks suspect,” he said sharing his article that raised the questions over the race.

Describing it as cheating, a Redditor said: “Took me several views to see that the hand throwing the puck actually belongs to the skater on the outside, snaking an arm past the Canadian skater on the inside of the turn. Gotta say, the cheating shows amazing precision and coordination. Truly Olympic level cheat.”

Fellow Canadian skater Kim Boutin won the race to move onto semi-finals with her teammate Florence Brunelle finishing second. However, Brunelle was disqualified for tripping both Charles and Fan. The penalty meant that Italian Arianna Valcepina came second in the race to qualify for the semis.

Charles was also allowed to advance as she was in the second spot before tripping and the fall was not her fault.

In the finals, it was Italy’s Arianna Fontana that clinched gold medal and Netherland’s Suzanne Schulting grabbing silver, and Australia’s Boutin settled with bronze.