At the Milan Winter Olympics, short track speed skater Choi Min-jeong will aim for her sixth Olympic medal in the women's 3,000-meter relay final. She has won five medals in previous Games and failed to medal in the mixed team relay, women's 500m, and women's 1,000m so far in Milan. She has two more chances in the 1,500m and relay to tie the South Korean record.
At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, South Korean short track speed skater Choi Min-jeong is one medal away from tying the national record for the most Olympic medals by any athlete, winter or summer. She has secured five medals across the PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022 Games.
In Milan, Choi has yet to add to her tally. She missed medals in the mixed team relay and women's 500m events. On February 16, in the women's 1,000m at Milano Ice Skating Arena, she finished fourth in her semifinal heat, failing to advance to the final where only the top two progressed. Canadian Courtney Sarault and Italian Arianna Fontana advanced from her group, with Sarault taking silver. Choi placed third in the consolation Final B.
"I made some poor strategic choices," Choi said. "The starting position has also become important in the 1,000m. Because I was in the back at the start, I think I rushed too much early on. Then my skate blade made contact with someone else's. So much went wrong today."
She added, "I am disappointed, but I just wasn't good enough. I have to accept this quickly and move on to the next races." As captain of the national short track team, Choi stayed after her race to watch teammate Kim Gil-li win bronze in the 1,000m. "I was so proud of her," she said. "She was crying so much. So I wanted to give her a hug and congratulate her right away."
Choi will compete in the women's 3,000m relay final on February 17 at Milano Ice Skating Arena, skating with three teammates against Canada, Italy, and the Netherlands. The final starts at 9 p.m. local time. She has one more individual chance in the 1,500m. Also on Wednesday, South Korea's women's curling team faces Sweden at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d'Ampezzo, 260 kilometers northeast of Milan.
