Dutch skaters dominated the second day of short track in Milan, claiming gold in the women's 500m and 1000m.
Reigning world champion Xandra Velzeboer, who snapped her own 500m world record (41.399 seconds) in the semifinals Thursday, claimed a decisive win in the final race, becoming the first Dutch woman to win the event and denying Italian legend Arianna Fontana a three-peat. Velzeboer, 24, took an early lead and finished the race 0.6 seconds ahead of Fontana, who skated to silver for her 13th career Olympic short track medal.
Velzeboer won four-straight 500m races on the international level in 2025, a streak which began at worlds in March of that year.
With her silver finish, Fontana joined fencer Edoardo Mangiarotti as the most decorated Italian Olympians, Summer or Winter. In Beijing, she collected three medals and became short track's most decorated skater. She has now made the 500m podium in five of her six Olympic appearances.
Two days earlier, Fontana, 35, became the oldest female short track Olympic medalist when she lifted Italy to its first-ever gold in the mixed relay.
Canada's Courtney Sarault, who this season earned her first Crystal Globe trophy, rounded out the podium, earning the second medal of her Olympic debut. She helped Canada to 2nd place behind Italy in the mixed relay. Sarault, 25, will have a chance at three more medals in Milan: the 1000m, 1500m, and 3000m.
American Kristen Santos-Griswold crashed out in the semifinal and the B Final, finishing 9th overall. Teammate Julie Letai did not advance to the semifinals.
In the day's second event, Jens van 'T Wout secured the Netherlands' first win — and second-ever Olympic medal — in the men's 1000m. It also gave the Netherlands' its first gold in any men's short track event.
Van 'T Wout, also 24, hung back through much of the race, stealing the lead from two-time reigning Crystal Globe champion William Dandjinou as the bell rang to signal the final lap. He defended his position through the finish,
China's Sun Long claimed silver, and 18-year-old Rim Jong-Un (KOR) finished 3rd, becoming the second-youngest athlete to earn a medal in the men’s 1000m. Countryman Kim Dong-Seong was just 97 days younger when he won gold in 1980.
Rim's bronze boosts South Korea's world-leading Olympic medal count to 54. China is tied with Canada for the second-most with 38.
Two-time reigning Crystal Globe champion William Dandjinou finished just off the podium in 4th. Like Sarault, he aided in Canada's silver-earning mixed relay effort and has three more events on his Milan program: the 500m, 1500m, and 5000m relay.
American Clayton DeClemente did not advance to the semifinal after finishing last in his quarterfinal.
Traditionally, South Korea has dominated the short track world, but in recent years, the Dutch, who have long excelled in speed skating, have burst onto the podium.
At the 2018 Games, Suzeane Schulting made history as the Netherlands' first Olympic short track gold medalist. Four years later, she dominated in Beijing, becoming the first short track woman to earn four medals at a single Games, including silver in the 500m
Short track continues Saturday, Feb. 14, with the qualifying rounds in the women's 1000m and men's 1500m, as well as the women's 3000m semifinals. Skaters are scheduled to take the ice at 2:15 p.m. E.T.