Short track is loved for its chaos, its field-altering collisions, and its erratic nature. The tournament at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics was no different.

South Korea continued its usual dominance at the top of the medal count, but a new challenger arose in the Netherlands. Several skaters made history, and the United States found itself back on the short track podium for the first time in eight years.

Here are some of the most memorable moments from the Milano Ice Skating Arena...

WATCH FULL EVENT REPLAYS | RESULTS

FULL EVENT REPLAY: Women's 1500m

Known for her poise, defensive ability and control, American skater Corinne Stoddard entered the Olympics as the world No. 2 overall. The 24-year-old skater logged a personal-best World Tour campaign ahead of the 2026 Games, collecting eight individual medals (3 silver, 5 bronze) and lifting the United States to three relay medals. This year marked the first time she skated to silver twice or more on one World Tour.

But she faced a string of bad luck in Milan, slipping thrice on her first day of competition alone.

After a few days of rest between events, Stoddard looked back to peak form by the time the 1500m —  the tournament's final women's event —  rolled around, skating confidently through her quarterfinal and semifinal heats. In the final, she defended an early lead for several laps before South Korean skaters Kim Gil-Li and Choi Min-Jeong overtook her for gold and silver, respectively. 

With her bronze, Stoddard became the first American woman to make a 1500m podium, the first American woman to earn an Olympic short track medal since 2010, and the first American skater, man or woman, to claim an Olympic medal since 2018.

FULL EVENT REPLAYS: Men's 500m | Women's 500m & Men's 1000m | Women's 1000m | Men's 1500m | Men's Relay

Before the 2026 Games, the Netherlands had only ever earned nine total Olympic short track medals. The country's first didn't come until 2014, and the first gold came in 2018. The Dutch now leave Milan with seven more short track medals, tied with South Korea for the most of any country, and lead the gold count with five.

Xandra Velzeboer and brothers Jens and Melle van 't Wout spearheaded the Dutch effort in Milan, contributing to six of their seven podium finishes. 

Velzeboer, the reigning world champion in the 500m, roared to gold in the distance in Milan, snapping her own world record in the semifinals and crossing the finish line 0.6 seconds ahead of her competitors to clinch her first career Olympic medal, a gold. Four days later, she topped the podium in the 1000m as well.

Skating in the Olympics together for the first time, the van 't Wouts combined for five medals; Jens collected three on his own (1000m gold, 1500m gold, 500m bronze), Melle skated to one individual prize (500m silver), and they both contributed to gold in the men's 5000m relay.

The Netherlands' five gold medals earned in Milan are more than the country had won in all of their previous Olympic appearances combined (3). The 2026 Games also marked the first time the Dutch have made an Olympic podium in the men's 500m, the women's 1500m, and the men's relay.

FULL EVENT REPLAY: Women's 3000m Relay | Mixed Relay

Arianna Fontana cemented her title as the short track G.O.A.T. at the 2022 Games, skating to her 9th, 10th, and 11th Olympic medals and becoming the sport's most decorated Olympian. She reaffirmed that title in Milan, her final of six Olympic appearances.

The 35-year-old sat out much of the 2025 season due to a hip injury she sustained at the first World Tour stop in mid-October. Motivated by a home Games — the second of her career, landing exactly 20 years after her Olympic debut in Turin, Italy — Fontana lifted her country to mixed relay gold and women's relay silver, grabbing a 500m silver along the way as well.

With 14 Olympic medals, she ends her short track career tied as the second-most decorated Winter Olympian in any sport and Italy's most decorated Olympian, summer or winter.

FULL EVENT REPLAY: Men's 1500m

Traditionally, South Korea has commanded the short track landscape, collecting a world-leading 53 medals (26 gold) in 65 contested Olympic events before the 2026 Winter Games. Though the Dutch beat them in golds this time around, South Korean skaters fought hard to protect their label as the globe's most prolific short track nation.

Choi Min-Jeong and Kim Gil-Li powered the women's side, skating to the country's 7th women's relay title in 10 Olympic contests. In her third and final Olympics, Choi also collected 1500m silver, becoming South Korea's most decorated Winter Olympian with seven total medals. Kim nabbed 1000m bronze and 1500m gold for her first career Olympic medals.

The men found the podium three times: 1000m bronze, 1500m silver, and men's relay silver.

Short track is nothing if not unpredictable. Belgian skater Tineke den Dulk tried to take advantage of that fact on the final day of competition.

In the third of six women's 1500m quarterfinals, den Dulk attempted to lap the rest of the field, a rare strategy that serves to create an unbeatable lead and confuse the other skaters by triggering the bell, which signals the final lap, early. She did win her heat, but the extra effort cost her in the semifinals, where she finished last.

Belgium has only ever earned two Olympic medals, both bronze and both earned, at least in part, by Hanne Desmet. Desmet finished 3rd in the women's 1000m four years ago. In Milan, she and her brother, Stijn, lifted the country to a mixed relay medal, becoming the first sibling duo to claim an Olympic medal together in the same event outside of figure skating.