China's Yang Zhou has won her second successive Olympic gold medal, finishing first in today's short track speed skating 1500m final at the Sochi Games.

The lineup, which did not include Great Britain skater Elise Christie, was subjected to two false starts, but once the race was under way, half the field was wiped out by a collision with six laps to go.

With just four women battling it out for the podium places, Yang, the defending Olympic champion, was able to take control of the race, attacking down the inside to win her second successive crown in a time of 2:19.140.

Shim Suk Hee of South Korea came second in a time of 2:19.239, while Italy's Arianna Fontana secured the bronze thanks to a finish time of 2:19.416.