South Korea’s Kim Gil-li and Choi Min-jeong won gold and silver in the women’s 1,500 meters in short track speedskating at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics.
Kim finished first in 2:32.076 in the final at Milan’s Ice Skating Arena. Choi followed in 2:32.450 for silver. Corinne Stoddard took bronze in 2:32.578.
The medal made Kim a two-time gold medalist at her first Olympics. She opened her Games with bronze in the women’s 1,000 meters and helped South Korea win the women’s 3,000-meter relay. She closed the short track program by winning the 1,500.
Choi was seeking a third straight Olympic gold in the 1,500 after winning in Pyeongchang in 2018 and Beijing in 2022, but finished second. The silver was her seventh Olympic medal overall — four golds and three silvers — making her South Korea’s most decorated athlete across the Summer and Winter Games. She had been tied at six medals with Jin Jong-oh (shooting), Kim Soo-nyung (archery) and Lee Seung-hoon (speedskating).
In the final, Kim and Choi started near the back. With seven laps remaining, Choi moved to the outside and advanced to second behind Stoddard.
Kim accelerated with two laps left to move into third as Stoddard began to fade. With three laps remaining, Choi led and Kim was second. Kim passed Choi on the straightaway with two laps to go and held the lead to the finish.
South Korea’s short track team ended the Games with two golds, three silvers and two bronzes, finishing second to the Netherlands (five golds, one silver and one bronze).
* This article has been translated by AI.
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