South Korea and Canada, short track powerhouses, held a joint training session in Milan ahead of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Ten skaters from each nation shared the ice at Milano Ice Skating Arena, focusing on relay drills amid anticipated fierce rivalries. South Korea leads Olympic history with 26 golds, while Canada dominated the recent ISU World Tour season.
On Feb. 3 (local time), ten short track speed skaters from South Korea and ten from Canada participated in a joint training session at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy. South Korea, the most successful nation in Olympic short track history with 26 gold medals, featured Olympic champions Choi Min-jeong, Shim Suk-hee, and Hwang Dae-heon, alongside 18-year-old phenom Rim Jong-un, who earned her spot by defeating former Olympians in last year's grueling national trials.
Canada, third on the all-time Olympic medal table with 10 golds behind China's 12, dominated the 2025-2026 ISU Short Track World Tour season, securing 15 golds and 31 medals overall. William Dandjinou claimed the men's Crystal Globe with seven individual titles, while Courtney Sarault won the women's with five golds.
The session began with South Korean skaters taking the ice first for a warmup and coaching instructions, followed by the Canadians joining for a joint relay drill where teams sent out two skaters at a time to practice exchanges. Separate skates ensued, with each team observing the other closely.
Afterward, Rim Jong-un remarked, "I think we were able to see which skaters from Canada worked well off each other at which points in a relay. As for our team, we did our best to try to get on the same page without showing too much of what we're trying to do."
Sarault noted that as Canada's first training in Milan, the focus was to "get our legs under us." She added, "We don't have any crazy secret plans. But at the end of the day, we're going to all skate together and every decision's going to be different and every race is different. So you can pick up some things but you never really know in short track."
Dandjinou praised South Korea as "a great team with great skaters and a lot of history, technically impeccable," adding, "the competition is going to be a good one." He affirmed Canada's goal of seven medals in Milan, undeterred by the session's outcome. Sarault described her Korean rivals as "really respectful skaters and really great athletes," expressing excitement for the challenges ahead.
The two nations have clashed intensely throughout the season in individual and relay events, setting the stage for memorable Olympic battles.
