Women's relay team ends 8-year Olympic drought, delivers first short track title of 2026 Winter Games

Kim Gil-li (center) crosses the finish line in first place in the women's 3,000-meter relay event in Milan on Wednesday. (Yonhap)
Kim Gil-li (center) crosses the finish line in first place in the women's 3,000-meter relay event in Milan on Wednesday. (Yonhap)

The South Korean women's short track team captured gold in the 3,000-meter relay on Wednesday, ending an eight-year Olympic gold drought and delivering the nation's first short track title of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

The quartet of Choi Min-jeong, Kim Gil-li, Noh Do-hee and Shim Suk-hee clocked a winning time of 4:04:014, marking South Korea's seventh Olympic gold in this event and reclaiming a throne they last occupied on home turf at the 2018 PyeongChang Games.

The team took an early lead but soon slipped to third behind Canada and the Netherlands. The race took a chaotic turn with 16 laps to go when a Dutch skater fell, opening up a significant gap between the leading Canadians and the chasing pack.

But Choi managed to stay upright, keeping South Korea in third place. With five laps remaining, the race began to shift as the Koreans moved into contention. Shim set up the charge by giving Choi a powerful push, and Kim delivered a decisive final two laps to secure the lead.

From left: Shim Suk-hee, Noh Do-hee, Lee So-yeon, Kim Gil-li and Choi Min-jeong pose with their gold medals after winning the women's 3,000-meter relay short track event, in Milan on Wednesday. (Yonhap)
From left: Shim Suk-hee, Noh Do-hee, Lee So-yeon, Kim Gil-li and Choi Min-jeong pose with their gold medals after winning the women's 3,000-meter relay short track event, in Milan on Wednesday. (Yonhap)

After the race, Kim told reporters her only focus was finishing first.

“I just kept telling myself I had to finish first. I focused on not falling and steadied myself with both hands on the ice. As soon as I got the baton from Choi, I thought I could finish this,” she said.

The women’s 3,000-meter short track relay has long been one of South Korea’s most dominant Olympic events. The team won four consecutive titles beginning with the 1994 Winter Olympics, followed by another golden run with back-to-back victories at the 2014 and 2018 Winter Games.

With the gold, Kim became South Korea's first multimedalist of these Olympics, adding the relay gold to her earlier individual bronze in the women's 1,000 meters.

Lee So-yeon joined the final quartet on the podium, receiving a gold medal for her performance in the semifinal round.

Choi, the team's captain, added another milestone to her decorated career by winning her sixth Olympic medal. Her total ties the all-time Korean Olympic medal record held by shooting legend Jin Jong-oh, former archer Kim Soo-nyung and speedskater Lee Seung-hoon.


junheee@heraldcorp.com