Morishige Wins Speedskating Bronze at Beijing Olympics

Beijing, Feb. 12 (Jiji Press)--Japanese speedskater Wataru Morishige won bronze in the men's 500-meter race at the Beijing Winter Olympics on Saturday.

This is the first Olympic medal for a male Japanese speedskater since Keiichiro Nagashima and Joji Kato took silver and bronze, respectively, in the 500-meter race at the 2010 Vancouver Games.

The bronze medal for 21-year-old Morishige boosted Japan's medal count at the Beijing Games to nine--two golds, two silvers and five bronzes.

In the women's ice hockey quarterfinals, Japan was beaten by Finland.

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