South Korea Crashes Out of Mixed Relay After Collision with U.S. Skater

South Korea's short track speed skating team failed to advance to the mixed relay final at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics after colliding with a fallen U.S. skater.

The mixed relay team was running in third place during the 2000m semifinal at the Milan Ice Skating Arena on January 10 when they crashed into a U.S. skater who had fallen while in second position. The collision left Korea finishing third in their heat, missing the final as only the top two teams advanced.

Korea fielded its strongest lineup—Choi Min-jung, Kim Gil-li, Hwang Dae-heon, and Lim Jong-eon—competing against Canada, the United States, and Belgium for a spot in the final. Starting in third, Korea maintained that position behind the U.S. and Canada through the early stages.

Midway through the race, U.S. skater Corinne Stoddard, who was leading, slipped and fell. Kim Gil-li, in pursuit, had no time to avoid her and crashed head-on into the fence. Despite falling, Kim stretched out her arm to complete the handoff to Choi Min-jung, but the gap had already widened significantly.

Under competition rules, only the first and second-place teams at the time of a collision caused by another skater's fall are protected from elimination. Korea was ruled out accordingly.

This marks the second consecutive Olympic early exit for Korea in this event, following their elimination at the 2022 Beijing Games.

"It's a disappointing result, but we have many events ahead," Hwang Dae-heon said in a post-race interview. "If we take things one step at a time, we'll achieve good results in other events."