Milan, Italy – South Korea’s short track speed skating team has concluded a remarkably successful showing at the close of the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, securing a total of seven medals and surpassing their performance at the Beijing Games. The team’s final tally includes two gold, three silver, and two bronze medals, a significant improvement over the two gold, three silver, and one bronze achieved in Beijing.
The team’s momentum shifted decisively with victories in the women’s 3,000m relay and the men’s 500m on . Choi Min-Jeong, Kim Gil-Li, Shim Suk-Hee, and No Do-Hee powered South Korea to gold in the women’s 3000m relay, marking the country’s seventh title in the event’s ten Olympic contests. This win represented South Korea’s first gold medal in short track at the Milan Games.
The women’s relay victory was particularly notable as it saw veteran skater Arianna Fontana of Italy earn her 14th career Olympic medal. Fontana now surpasses Italian fencer Edoardo Mangiarotti as Italy’s most decorated Olympian, and ties Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjorndalen as the second-most decorated Winter Olympian, trailing only Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjorgen (15 medals). Fontana has the potential to equal Bjorgen’s record in the 1500m event scheduled for .
In the men’s 500m final, Steven Dubois of Canada claimed gold, winning his first individual Olympic medal and securing Canada’s first victory in the event since . The silver medal went to Melle van ‘t Wout of the Netherlands, and the bronze to his teammate, Jens van ‘t Wout. The race saw a penalty assessed to Canadian skater William Dandjinou, who had entered the Games as a favorite in the individual men’s events.
South Korea’s strong performance in Milan comes after a somewhat unsteady start to their Olympic campaign. Despite initial challenges, the team demonstrated resilience and a powerful finish, solidifying their position as a dominant force in short track speed skating. The sport has been a consistent source of success for South Korea at the Winter Olympics, with the nation leading the medal tally since the event’s inclusion in the Games in , boasting 53 medals including 26 golds.
Short track speed skating debuted as a full medal sport at the Winter Games in Albertville, France, having previously been a demonstration sport at the Calgary Games – results from which are not included in official Olympic statistics. The addition of the mixed relay event in brought the total number of short track events to nine (four for men, four for women, and one mixed event), extending the competition schedule to six days from five.
The success of South Korea’s team also highlights the broader historical context of the sport. Viktor Ahn, formerly a dominant force for South Korea, became the first short track speedskater to win gold medals in all four individual disciplines (500m, 1000m, 1500m, and 5000m relay). He achieved this feat with three golds representing Russia in , following three golds won representing South Korea in .
The Winter Olympics have also seen notable achievements beyond South Korea’s success. Haralds Silovs of Latvia made history at the Games by becoming the first athlete to compete in both short track and long track speed skating, and the first to compete in two disciplines on the same day. These individual stories contribute to the rich tapestry of athletic competition and national pride on display at the Games.
The strong showing by both South Korea and Canada underscores the continued competitiveness of the sport on the international stage, while the Netherlands’ performance, despite a crash in the women’s relay, demonstrates their enduring strength in short track speed skating. The results from Milan are likely to fuel further investment and development in the sport across participating nations as they prepare for future Olympic competitions.
