Dutch skater Jens van 't Wout won the men's 1500m Saturday, surviving a crowded, chaotic race for his second-career Olympic gold — both of which he earned in Milan.
Due to a series of penalties and crashes in the three semifinal races, nine skaters advanced to the final, making for an unusually-cramped field (typically, each final has around 5 skaters). Van 't Wout smartly navigated the race, creeping into first place and avoiding the numerous stumbles happening around him. He crossed the finish line in 2 minutes, 12.219 seconds for the gold.
Two days earlier, the 24 year old 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.
The Dutch have long dominated the long track speed skating world, though they've topped the podium just once at the 2026 Games. In short track, the orange squad has claimed three of four gold medals awarded so far.
Reigning Olympic champion Hwang Dae-Heon (South Korea) finished 2nd behind him in Saturday's 1500m, and Roberts Kruszbergs rounded out the podium for Latvia's first-ever Olympic short track medal.
Reigning Crystal Globe champion William Dandjinou lost control and finished 5th, missing an individual podium for the second time in his Olympic debut. The Canadian skater entered the Olympics as the gold medal favorite in each of his three individual events, as well as a podium contender in two relays. He and his Canadian teammates skated to silver in the mixed relay Feb. 10. The men's relay squad will compete for its fifth Olympic gold in eight appearances Feb. 16 and Feb. 20.
Italy's Pietro Sighel, the overall world No. 2, and 18-year-old phenom Rim Jong-Un (South Korea) did not advance beyond the quarterfinals.
Americans Andrew Heo and Brandon Kim finished 2nd and 6th, respectively, in the B Final. Teammate Clayton DeClemente finished last in his quarterfinal and did not move on.
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🥇Jens van 't Wout (NED) |
Women's 1000m qualifying
Reigning Crystal Globe champion Courtney Sarault (Canada), Italian short track legend Arianna Fontana, Beijing silver medalist Choi Min-Jeong (South Korea), reigning Olympic bronze medalist Hanne Desmet (Belgium), and Dutch skater Xandra Velzeboer won their heats to move on to the quarterfinals.
Sarault, 25, skated to 1000m silver at 2025 Worlds and won three of the four races on the 2025 World Tour, finishing 2nd in the fourth. The last time a Canadian woman won individual short track gold was in 1998, when Annie Perault topped the 500m podium.
At the 2022 Games, Hanne Desmet took 1000m bronze to become the first Belgian to make an Olympic short track podium and the second Belgian woman to claim a Winter Olympic medal in any sport after pairs figure skater Micheline Lannoy in 1948. Desmet is now the reigning world champion.
Velzeboer made history in the women's 500m, snapping her own world record (41.399 seconds) in the semifinals en route to gold, becoming the first Dutch woman to win the event and denying Fontana a three-peat. The 24 year old won four-straight 500m races on the international level in 2025, a streak which began at worlds in March of that year.
American Kristen Santos-Griswold, the 2024 world champion in the distance, put together a clean race in her heat to finish 2nd and advance. Teammates Corinne Stoddard and Julie Letai finished 3rd and 4th in their heats, respectively, and did not qualify for the next round.
Skaters will return to the ice for the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals Monday, Feb. 16.
Women's 3000m semifinals
The Nethelands, Canada, Italy, and South Korea all finished in the top two of their respective semifinals, earning an A Final berth.
Canada and the Netherlands have topped the women's relay field over the last two seasons, claiming one gold and one bronze apiece on the world championship level. Each country boasts some of the sport's strongest skaters: Sarault and four-time Olympic medalist Kim Boutin lead the Canadian women, while the Dutch are powered by the world's fastest skater, Velzeboer. The Netherlands owns the 2022 Olympic title and the 2025 World Tour season title.
In 2006, at the last Italian Games, Fontana earned her first-ever Olympic medal (bronze) in the women's relay. Twenty years and 12 more prizes later, Fontana is back on home soil and ready to end her final Olympic appearance with a bang. She's already skated to mixed relay gold and 500m silver in Milan, and with the help of overall world No. 8 Elisa Confortola, she'll look to earn the country's first gold in the event. Confortola, making her first Olympic appearance in Milan, was just three years old when Fontana made her own debut.
South Korea, traditionally a short track juggernaut, has won six of the nine women's relays contested on the Olympic level. The team skated to silver in Beijing.
The United States fell early in the race but battled back hard to finish 3rd, only 1.1 seconds behind 2nd-place finisher Italy. The team of Santos-Griswold, Stoddard, Letai, and Kamryn Lute will compete in the B Final for ranking purposes.
The finals will take place Wednesday, Feb. 18.