Ahn wins 500-meter short track final

Sochi, Russia (SportsNetwork.com) - Viktor Ahn's decision to join Team Russia paid off again on Friday as the 28-year-old won the men's 500-meter short track speedskating final.

It marked the fifth gold medal of Ahn's Olympic career and second here in Sochi. He won a trio of golds in 2006 while a member of his native South Korea team, later joining the Russian squad after failing to qualify for the 2010 Vancouver Games.

Ahn also won gold in these Olympics in the men's 1,000-meter race while taking bronze in the 1,500 meters.

Ahn was bringing up the rear early in the race before making his move into second around the same time China's Liang Wenhao fell. Ahn then overtook China's Wu Dajing, who claimed silver ahead of Canada's Charle Cournoyer.

American J.R. Celski finished second in the B final to claim sixth overall. He was nearly eliminated in the quarterfinals, but moved on after one skater fell and another was disqualified.

Russian Vladimir Grigorev was not as lucky in the quarterfinals and did not advance. He had taken silver in the men's 1,000 meters.