South Korea's women's 3,000-meter short track speed skating relay team won gold at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on February 18. The team of Choi Min-jeong, Kim Gil-li, Noh Do-hee and Shim Suk-hee finished ahead of Italy and Canada. This marks South Korea's first short track gold of the Games.
At the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, on February 18, South Korea's women's 3,000-meter short track speed skating relay team competed in the 27-lap final at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Midway through the race, Choi Min-jeong nearly fell after colliding with Michelle Velzeboer of the Netherlands, who had skated into the blade of a Canadian skater. South Korea held third place, then overtook Canada in the late stages. Kim Gil-li anchored the team to gold with a burst of speed over the final two laps, finishing ahead of Italy and Canada.
This victory gave South Korea its second gold medal of the Olympics, bringing the total to two golds, two silvers and three bronzes. The short track competition concludes on Sunday.
According to a Korea Times report on February 19, South Korea has two final medal opportunities in short track on Friday. Choi Min-jeong will aim for a third consecutive gold in the women's 1,500 meters, while the men's 5,000-meter relay team has qualified for the final. Since short track became a medal event in 1992, South Korea has never failed to win multiple golds and has always secured at least one individual gold. Both streaks are on the line Friday.
No short track skater has won three consecutive golds in the same distance. This month in Milan, Italy's Arianna Fontana sought a third straight title in the women's 500 meters but earned silver. The Netherlands' Suzanne Schulting, the two-time defending champion in the women's 1,000 meters, only participated in the 3,000-meter relay this year.
