Home > Sports > Olympic Sports

Short track speed skater Choi Min-jeong becomes Korea's most decorated Olympian

Published: 21 Feb. 2026, 12:40

Choi Min-jeong of South Korea, left, congratulates teammate Kim Gil-li after Kim took 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. Choi won the silver medal. [YONHAP]

Short track speed skater Choi Min-jeong became Korea's most decorated Olympian on Friday in Milan, when she captured her seventh career medal.

Choi took the silver medal behind teammate Kim Gil-li in the women's 1,500 meters at Milano Ice Skating Arena.

It was Choi's second medal in Milan, following her gold in the women's 3,000-meter relay on Wednesday.

Choi, 27, was trying to become the first short track speed skater ever to win three consecutive gold medals in the same individual event. Though she didn't accomplish her goal, Choi still made history.

With her seventh medal, Choi climbed ahead of former shooter Jin Jong-oh, ex-archer Kim Soo-nyung and speed skater Lee Seung-hoon, who each won six medals in Olympic competition, on the all-time Korean leaderboard.

Choi started her Olympic career by winning the women's 1,500-meter and 3,000-meter relay gold medals at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games. Four years later in Beijing, Choi repeated as the 1,500 meters champion while adding silver medals in the 1,000 meters and the 3,000-meter relay.

Choi's third Olympics began on a sour note in Milan. In her first race, the mixed team relay, Korea crashed out of the semifinals when Kim Gil-li got tripped up by Corinne Stoddard of the United States. In individual races, Choi missed the finals in both the 500 meters and the 1,000 meters.

Choi finally picked up her first medal in Italy with the relay gold, and then added the silver on Friday.

The list of Choi's international accomplishments is long and impressive. On top of her Olympic golds, Choi has won 24 medals at world championships, including 17 gold medals. She has been the overall world champion three times.

Yonhap