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Korean fans bombard U.S. speed skater with hate comments after fall ruins Kim Gil-li's final hopes

Published: 11 Feb. 2026, 11:06

Kim Gil-li of Korea, left, slams into the boards after falling over Corinne Stoddard of the United States during the semifinals of the mixed team relay in short track speed skating at the Winter Olympics at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on Feb. 10. [NEWS1]

An American short track speed skater who collided with Korea’s Kim Gil-li during a race has been bombarded with hateful comments from Korean sports fans on her Instagram account.

During the mixed 2,000-meter relay semifinal at the Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics held at the Milan Ice Skating Arena in Italy on Tuesday, Corinne Stoddard of the United States, who had been leading the race, fell on the 12th lap. Kim, who was trailing closely behind, collided with Stoddard and also fell.

The referees did not impose a penalty on the United States, and Korea, which was not within the top two positions required for automatic qualification, did not advance to the final.

Kim reportedly suffered abrasions and bleeding on the front of the arm after becoming entangled with Stoddard and crashing hard into the boards with her arm pressed against the ice.

Stoddard had also fallen during an earlier quarterfinal race, nearly colliding with Kim, who managed to avoid contact that time. Stoddard later lost balance and fell on her own during a classification race as well.

Kim Gil-li of Korea and Corinne Stoddard of the United States are seen tangled after a collision during the semifinals of the mixed team relay in short track speed skating at the Winter Olympics at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on Feb. 10. [KIM JONG-HO]

There has been no indication that Stoddard fell intentionally. Some observers have pointed out that the ice may have been soft because the venue is shared with figure skating and there was insufficient time for surface adjustments.

Nevertheless, online users flocked to Stoddard’s Instagram account and posted abusive comments. Comments written in Korean included insults telling the skater to "go and learn how to walk again," mocking the skates and demanding an apology to Koreans.

English-language comments also followed, including sarcastic remarks labeling Stoddard the “best at slipping in the world.”

Comments to a post by American short track speed skater Corinne Stoddard on Instagram are restricted after malicious comments were left on the post by Koreans [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Stoddard eventually shut down the comments section.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK LIN [[email protected]]