Japan's Wataru Morishige earned bronze as Gao Tingyu won China's first men's speedskating Olympic gold on Saturday in the 500 meters.

Gao smashed the Olympic record to cross the finish line in 34.32 seconds as spectators cheered him on at National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing.

Gao set the pace early as the seventh pairing out of 15, finishing the single lap around the oval in a time that his rivals failed to beat.