Farrell Treacy broke a British record in the short track speed skating 1500m final that included a staggering 10 skaters.
On a frenetic night of short track the 26-year-old managed to navigate his way to the A final, the first Brit to do so at an Olympic Games since Jack Whelbourne in 2014.
In an Olympic first, due to a series of advancements, he lined up against nine other skaters clocking a time of 2:11.988 to finish in 9th place.
After the race the Henley-in-Arden skater said that “being in an Olympic final is a massive achievement, a massive achievement for my sport.”
Treacy showed great skill to avoid crashing out of the semi-final after Canadian Charles Hamelin made a move that would see him disqualified.
“I saw Charles make a move up the inside and I didn't want to let him pass,” he said.
"I knew somebody was coming around my outside and I blocked out the track thinking, 'he's going to pull out now, there's no way he's going to go for it', and he still went for it.
"I looked at my coach straight after and thought, 'is this an advancement?' and he nodded his head.
"I looked seconds after, we made eye-contact because you know where your coach is and he was like, 'yes.'
"Then I'm in the final and I'm thinking about staying in the race and not using too much energy in the semi, because you know what's going to happen unless the referee makes a crazy call.”
South Korea's Hwang Dae-heon took home gold in a closely fought final that was skated at a quick pace. Treacy admitted he hoped the final would not be so fast and there would be “a little bit more fighting” so that he could take advantage of “a couple of bumps”.
The top ten finish was a huge achievement from a skater who at one point seemed destined to miss the Games after Covid infection just weeks before the Opening Ceremony. He battled with PCR tests rather than fellow short track skaters, eventually meeting the strict entry requirements to Beijing.
His stunning evening of racing was cheered on across the UK.
Speaking on BBC TV coverage three-time Olympic short track speed skater Sarah Lindsay said:
“This is huge for us. People don't get to watch short track. Everybody who watches it for the first time, they love it. It's only shown every four years. To have someone represent Great Britain in such a good way and on such a big stage is so encouraging.”