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Korea grabs three more short track medals Friday, overall Games total now at 10

Published: 21 Feb. 2026, 17:20

Kim Gil-li of Korea celebrates after winning the gold medal in the women's 1,500-meter short track speed skating event at the 2026 Winter Olympics at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on Feb. 20. [YONHAP]

Korea claimed three medals in short track speed skating at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games on Friday, with Kim Gil-li becoming the country's first double gold medalist of the competition.

On the last day of short track races in Milan, Kim, 21, held off teammate Choi Min-jeong for the gold in the women's 1,500 meters at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan. Corinne Stoddard of the United States got the bronze behind the two Koreans.

Kim and Choi started the 14-lap race in the middle of the pack before speeding past the other skaters over the late stretch. Choi briefly held the lead, but Kim sped past her on the 13th lap and crossed the finish line first.

Kim earlier won gold in the 3,000-meter relay and bronze in the 1,000 meters.

Choi came up just shy of becoming the first short tracker ever to win three consecutive gold medals in the same individual race. However, Choi still became Korea's most decorated Olympian by pushing her career medal totals to seven.

Earlier in the evening, the quartet of Rim Jong-un, Lee Jeong-min, Lee June-seo and Hwang Dae-heon won the silver medal in the men's 5,000-meter relay, finishing behind the Netherlands and ahead of Italy.

Hwang's late spurt as the anchor pushed Korea into the silver medal position over the final corner.

Hwang, the 1,500-meter silver medalist, and Rim, the 1,000-meter bronze medalist, each finished the competition with two medals apiece.

Members of the Korean men's 5,000-meter short track speed skating relay team celebrate after winning the silver medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on Feb. 20. [YONHAP]

With these latest results, Korea has three gold medals, four silver medals and three bronze medals for the competition, with two more days remaining.

The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee had set three gold medals as the target — one more than the total from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Also on Friday, Lee Seung-hun qualified for the final in the men's freestyle skiing halfpipe event at Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, 140 kilometers (87 miles) north of Milan, but did not end up performing due to a knee injury he picked up while training for the final.

Lee, 20, was the first Korean freestyle skier ever to qualify for a halfpipe final.

Yonhap