Maame Biney advanced to the quarterfinal of the 500m despite late pressure from Kim A-Lang (KOR). Biney finished with a time of 43.665 seconds, good for second in her heat.
Fellow American Lana Gehring did not advance to the next round.
Elise Christie of Great Britain had set an Olympic record when she won her heat finishing in 42.872 seconds. Soon after, South Korean skater Choi Min-Jeong broke her record with a time of 42.827. Fellow medal contenders Fan Kexin (CHN) and Marianne St-Gelais advanced to the quarterfinals as well.
Choi's teammates Shim Suk-Hee and A-Lang were eliminated.
