Italian skaters Davide Ghiotto, Michele Malfatti, and Andrea Giovannini downed reigning world champion and world record holder United States in the men's team pursuit final Tuesday, claiming gold for Italy's first Olympic medal in the event since 2006 — the last time the country hosted the Winter Games, and the first time the team pursuit was contested on the Olympic level.

Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman, and Ethan Cepuran crossed the finish line a staggering 4.51 seconds behind Italy for silver. 

The two countries were neck and neck through the first half of Tuesday's final, both trios racing in near-perfect unity. Midway through the fifth lap, the Americans began to fall apart, tensing and dropping out of sync. Dawson, Lehman, and Cepuran lost over two seconds off their pace through the final three laps of the race.

"I thought we skated a great first half of the race. We were right where we needed to be," Cepuran said after the race. "Sometimes, you blow up a little bit, but we went out there, and we tried. We tried really hard."

Italy also came out on top when the two countries went head-to-head in the quarterfinals two days earlier, but only by 0.97 seconds.

With its third victory of the 2026 Games, the host country now leads the gold medal count in speed skating. The Dutch, longtime giants in the sport, have two.

The Americans have dominated the men's team pursuit landscape over the last five years, using a new, unorthodox strategy the team developed in 2018. Since the 2021-21 season, they have claimed three world records, five straight World Cup season titles, 2022 Olympic bronze and 2025 world championship gold (though they skated their first world record with Joey Mantia, who retired in 2023, in place of Cepuran). They entered the Olympics riding a six-race undefeated run on the international stage.

For Lehman, Tuesdays race marked his last, as he plans to retire after the 2026 Games.

"Eight years ago, none of us had skated a team pursuit together," he said after the race. "Now, to be finishing off with two Olympic medals, I'm pretty proud of it." 

Italy finished 2nd behind the United States at last year's world championships. In 2024, Italy won the world title, and the U.S. finished off the podium.

In Tuesday's B Final, China beat the Netherlands to bronze by a narrow 0.09 seconds for the country's first-ever medal in either the men's or women's team pursuit competition.

Canada fought hard for gold in the women's event, chipping away at an early Dutch lead for their second-straight Olympic title in the event, won by just 0.96 seconds. 

The Canadian trio of Isabelle Weidemann, Ivanie Blondin, and Valerie Maltais climbed the podium thrice on the 2025-26 World Cup (one gold, two silvers) and enteried the Olympics as the world's top-ranked team.

"We promised each other [before the race] that we would empty the tank," Maltais said. "The last thing I tell them when we go to the line is that I'm really proud to show up at the line with these girls. It's just a pleasure to have this trust that we will stay together and empty the tank."

At 6-foot-1, Weidemann often gets off to a slow start, but her long legs give the trio a boost as the race goes on. Blondin and Maltais, both much shorter at 5-foot-4, excel in the long distances, enabling them to keep up with Weidemann. Maltais finished on the 3000m podium in three of the four World Cup races this season (and claimed bronze in the event in Milan), and Blondin is the world No. 3 in the 16-lap mass start.

Initially, because of their previous success, the Canadian women were hesitant to adopt the United States' strategy. They finally made the switch last year, using the last World Cup season to refine their new technique and remain competitive. 

"Even today, from quarterfinals to semifinals to the final, we would sit down after every single race and watch," Blondin said. "We're always trying to improve."

Canada is the first country to repeat as Olympic champions since Germany in 2006 and 2010.

Joy Beune, who went undefeated in the 1500m on this year's World Cup, led the reigning world champion Dutch to silver with Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong and Marijke Groenewoud. The Netherlands has now made the podium in each of the last four Games.

Japan claimed bronze behind Miho Takagi, who became the second most decorated woman speed skater of all time with her 10th Olympic medal. The Netherlands' Ireen Wuest is the only other woman to claim more than 10 speed skating medals on the Olympic level (13).

The United States — racing with Brittany Bowe, Mia Manganello and Greta Myers — finished 4th.

Olympic speed skating continues Thursday, Feb. 19, with the men's 1500m, where Jordan Stolz will go for his third gold medal of the 2026 Olympics.