Italy won the mixed relay on the first day of Olympic short track competition Tuesday in Italy, claiming only the second-ever Olympic gold awarded in the event on home ice.

Led by short track legend Arianna Fontana, Italy took a backseat to Beijing gold medalist China, carefully biding its time while China led a tightly-packed race. With seven laps to go, Fontana made good use of a slight blip by China, racing past on the inside and establishing a dominant lead, which Elisa Confortola extended. Thomas Nadalini and Pietro Sighel kept up the pace through the final third of the race, securing the country's second gold of the 2026 Games.

With her win, Fontana adds a 12th Olympic medal — and a third gold — to her collection, extending her lead as the most decorated short track Olympian and Italian Winter Olympian. At 35 years old, she is now the oldest woman to climb an Olympic short track podium and only the second athlete to earn a medal in six Olympic appearances.

Fontana, who plans to retire after this season, is just one Olympic medal shy of the most earned by any Italian Olympian — Winter or Summer. Fencer Edoardo Mangiarotti, who last competed in the 1960 Olympics, currently holds the record with 13. Fontana will look to match that mark when she goes for her third-straight Olympic 500m title on Feb. 12. 

No other winter athlete from Italy has earned more than 10 Olympic medals.

Canada finished in 2nd, giving phenom William Dandjinou his first of a possible five medals he could earn in his Olympic debut.

Belgium rounded out the podium for the country's second-ever medal in short track. The first, also a bronze, was won by Hanne Desmet at the 2022 Games. Desmet raced on Tuesday's mixed relay squad with her brother, Stijn Desmet, becoming the first sibling duo to claim an Olympic medal together in the same event outside of figure skating.

China just missed the podium in 4th.

The United States overcame a slip by Corinne Stoddard in the quarterfinal of Tuesday's tournament, quickly getting back in the race and finishing 2nd to advance, but a second misstep by Stoddard in the semifinals cost the country a trip to the A Final. The team finished last in the B Final.

The Dutch squad won the B Final in Olympic record time, punching the clock at 2 minutes, 35.537 seconds.

FULL RESULTS

The day began with qualifying heats in the women's 500m and men's 1000m.

Both events featured eight heats with four skaters each. The best two athletes in each heat and the four fastest 3rd-place athletes qualified for the quarterfinals, which will take place Thursday, Feb. 12.

Reigning world champion Xandra Velzeboer (NED) and 2025 Crystal Globe winner Courtney Sarault (CAN) posted the two fastest times of the 500m field, blasting off the start line and creating a sizable lead within the first two laps of their respective heats. Fontana happily cruised in 2nd the whole way through her race, riding Michelle Velzeboer's draft through the finish line to advance to the quarterfinal.

Stoddard, who entered the Olympics as the world No. 3 in the 500m and the world No. 2 overall, began the day on a shaky note. The 24-year-old began her heat in characteristic fashion, jumping to the front of the pack off the start line and played defense through the first half of the race before she slipped into 2nd. In an attempt to regain her lead, she went for an inside pass but lost control and crashed out.

Teammate Kristen Santos-Griswold began her heat in 2nd but confidently slipped into the lead by the time she reached the finish line. Julie Letai (USA) finished third in her heat but advanced thanks to her quick time.

In the opening 1000m heat, Sighel lost his early lead midway through the race but slid back into first along the inside of the oval by the final lap. Dandjinou used his height and exceptional grasp of technique to his advantage in the event's fifth heat, coyly moving from 3rd to 1st to advance.

On this year’s World Tour circuit, the 24-year-old Dandjinou won seven of his 12 individual races. In the 1000m, however, he won just one of four, made the B Final in two others, and missed the final round altogether at World Tour No. 3. Still, he owns one world title and one Four Continents Championships title in the distance, both from 2024. 

Rim Jong-Un, the 19-year-old South Korean skater who finished the season as the world No. 2 in the distance, finished 2nd in his heat, qualifying for the quarterfinals.

In his Olympic debut, the United States' Clayton DeClemente finished 2nd in his heat to advance, benefitting from a collision between 2025 world champion Steven DuBois (CAN) and Niall Treacy (GBR).

Brandon Kim, the second American skater in the event, took a penalty in the event's final heat and did not advance.

Competition continues Thursday, Feb. 12, with the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals round of the women's 500m and men's 1000m. Skaters are scheduled to take the ice at 2:15 p.m. E.T.