At the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, South Korean short track skater Kim Gil-li secured the country's sixth medal with a bronze in the women's 1,000 meters. She finished third behind Xandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands and Courtney Sarault of Canada for her first Olympic medal. On the same day, the South Korean women's curling team defeated China 10-9.
On February 16 at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, South Korean short track skater Kim Gil-li, 21, claimed bronze in the women's 1,000 meters at Milano Ice Skating Arena. In the nine-lap race, Kim briefly led with two laps remaining but was overtaken by Xandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands and Courtney Sarault of Canada, who took gold and silver. This marked South Korea's third short track medal in Milan, following Rim Jong-un's bronze in the men's 1,000m and Hwang Dae-heon's silver in the men's 1,500m, bringing the nation's total to six medals: one gold, two silver, and three bronze. South Korea leads all-time Olympic short track medals with 56.
Kim overcame a hard fall in the mixed team relay semifinals last Tuesday, tripped by Corinne Stoddard of the United States, resulting in a bruise on her right elbow. In the 1,000m semifinals earlier that day, she was shoved by Hanne Desmet of Belgium, who received a penalty after video review, advancing Kim to the final. "This thing is heavier than I thought it was going to be," Kim said. "Now that I've won this, I am really motivated to reach an even higher place on the podium." She added, "So many skaters worked really hard to get into their peak form because this is the Olympics. I tried to keep trusting myself."
Also on Monday, at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d'Ampezzo, 260 kilometers northeast of Milan, South Korea's women's curling team edged China 10-9 in round-robin play. Leading 7-2 after five ends, South Korea trailed 8-9 after China's three points in the ninth, but skip Gim Eun-ji's takeout shot with the final stone in the 10th end secured two points for the win. South Korea now stands at 4-2 and faces Switzerland on Tuesday.
Kim has the women's 3,000m relay and 1,500m ahead, expressing confidence from the medal. The South Korean short track team advanced to the men's 5,000m relay final, eyeing their first gold in Milan.
