largefeature
Photos: Pride, passion, music and fireworks at Paralympic...
The Games are over and the athletes and ...
Charles Hamelin of Canada competes in the Short Track Speed Skating Men's 1,000 m on day 6 of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics at Pacific Coliseum on February 17, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
VANCOUVER - The Chinese 5000m men's speed skating relay team beat Canada by 0.09 of a second in the second semi-final Wednesday night - literally the tip of a skate.
After leading for all 50 laps of the race, Team Canada's Guillame Bastille, Charles Hamelin, Jean Olivier and Francois-Louis Tremblay looked comfortable and fast heading into the final, with only a minor collision with a Chinese skater during a transition marring what was otherwise a strong outing.
China's final skater took the inside track on the final bend and lunged a skate forward to take the photo finish, but the order of the first and second teams is largely academic as both qualify for tonight's final.
Canada's time was 6:43.610 while China qualified with a 6:43.601.
South Korea, with the third fastest time, and the United States and France also qualified for the final.
