The 500m already started with fireworks in the quarterfinals when favourite Xandra Velzeboer set a new Olympic record after finishing the first heat in 41.538 seconds.
The older Velzeboer sister improved her record in the semifinals, setting a world record of 41.399 after her younger sister, Michelle Velzeboer, was eliminated from the race following an unfortunate collision with the skate of American Kristen Santos-Griswold.
The final - a five-way battle between Velzeboer, compatriot Selma Poutsma, Italian heroine Arianna Fontana, and Canadians Courtney Lee Sarault and Kim Boutin - was Xandra Velzeboer's to lose, and the Dutchwoman ran away with it from the very start, beating out Fontana and Boutin, who overtook Poutsma on the final lap to grab a bronze medal.
Redemption
Velzeboer's short track tournament started off poorly after falling in the semifinal of the mixed team relay, costing the favoured Netherlands a shot at a gold medal.