At the last Winter Olympic Games held in Italy, Turin 2006, South Korea collected six out of eight gold medals up for grabs. Ahn Hyun-soo and Jin Sun-yu each took three gold medals in the men’s and women’s races.
Hwang Dae-heon of South Korea reacts after finishing third in his heat in the men’s 500-meter short track speed skating event at the Winter Olympics at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on Feb. 16, 2026. (Yonhap) South Korea, however, hasn’t been nearly as successful in Italy this year. With five medal events in the books and four more remaining, South Korea is still without a gold medal.
The all-time leader with 56 medals in Olympic short track speed skating, South Korea has so far taken one silver medal — by Hwang Dae-heon in the men’s 1,500 meters — and two bronze medals — by Rim Jong-un in the men’s 1,000m and Kim Gil-li in the women’s 1,000m — at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan.
Of the four events left, South Korea doesn’t have anyone left in the men’s 500 meters, where Rim and Hwang were both eliminated in the heats on Monday. The country is in the final for both the men’s 5,000m relay and the women’s 3,000m relay, and will have Kim and two-time defending champion Choi Min-jeong competing in the women’s 1,500m, which starts with the quarterfinals on Friday.
The short track medal table has a strong European flavor. The Netherlands has produced a pair of double gold medalists, as Jens van ‘t Wout has won the men’s 1,000m and 1,500m titles, and Xandra Velzeboer has been crowned the champion in the women’s 500m and 1,000m. Italy took the mixed team relay gold medal.
South Korea has won at least two gold medals in short track at every Olympics since the sport became a medal event in 1992 and has never been shut out of a gold in individual races. Both streaks are now in jeopardy.
At most Winter Games, short trackers have done the heavy lifting when it comes to winning medals for South Korea. This year, though, three out of South Korea’s six medals have come from snowboard, including the lone gold so far by Choi Gaon in the women’s halfpipe event. (Yonhap)