Jens van 't Wout, who also won the 1000m on Thursday, won his quarterfinal with ease before also putting up a dominant performance in the semifinals, which saw world no. 4 Steven Dubois finish last, but still advance to the final after home hero Thomas Nadalini, the world no. 2, was penalised for an illegal lane change on Dubois.
Nadalini's disqualification was the cherry on top of a sour cake for the home fans, who already saw world no. 6 Pietro Sighel miss out on the final with a penalty of his own.
The final was a nine-horse race, with Van 't Wout joined by Sun Long, William Dandjinou, Hwang Daeheon, Niall Treacy, Shin Dong Min, Steven Dubois, Liu Shaoang, and Roberts Kruzbergs, the last three of whom were all given tickets via penalties that proved costly for Nadalini, Shogo Miyata, and Felix Roussell - three of the five top-ranked players.
Van 't Wout took control of the final early, but had fierce competition from Dandjinou, Treacy and Kruzbergs. After Dandjinou was overtaken by Van 't Wout with a daring inside move, the Canadian world no. 1 received a push from Hwang that cost him a medal.
A further scuffle in the pack saw Niall Treacy, the surprising British finalist, pick up the only penalty of the race, but one that left the final classification untouched.
The 24-year-old Dutchman laid claim to his second gold medal of the Games, winning the 1500m ahead of Hwang and Kruzbergs. Van 't Wout has his best distance left with the 500m short track event set for Wednesday evening.
