BEIJING-- With a stunning late fall, South Korean short track speed skater Choi Min-jeong was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the women's 500m at Beijing 2022 on Monday, as the two-time Olympic champion has now gone 0-for-2 in her medal quest here.

Choi finished fourth out of five skaters in her quarterfinal heat at Capital Indoor Stadium with a time of 1:04.939. The top two skaters from four quarterfinal heats and the two-fastest third-place skaters advanced to the semifinals.

Choi was in second place behind Arianna Fontana of Italy when she slipped and fell without contact with two laps left in the 4 1/2-lap race.

After sliding into the padding, Choi slammed her hand down on the ice in apparent frustration.

Choi was trying to become the first South Korean to win gold in the women's 500m, which remains the only Olympic short track race in which South Korea had failed to produce a champion. Choi had reached the final at PyeongChang 2018 but was disqualified.

Choi was a member of the mixed relay team that crashed out of the quarterfinals here Saturday.

The early exit in her first individual race in Beijing left Choi in tears.

"I thought I had prepared myself well for this race," Choi said. "I am really disappointed."

Choi said she didn't notice any problems with her speed or her physical condition, nor did she have any issues with the ice surface at the rink.

Asked if trying to bring home the first Olympic title in the women's 500m had put too much pressure on her, Choi said, fighting back tears, "I thought I would be able to end the drought here, and I got a lot of help along the way."

Source: Yonhap News Agency