Short Track Skaters Slam Milan Olympic Ice Quality

Complaints are mounting over ice conditions at the short track venue for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. World-class skaters have been slipping and crashing out of races in succession, blaming ice that is too soft. The organizing committee maintains there are no problems, fueling ongoing controversy.

Korean athletes who completed official training on January 12 unanimously warned that the rink's ice quality was dangerously soft. Korea's mixed 2000m relay team was eliminated in the semifinals on January 10 at Milan Ice Skating Arena after colliding with a U.S. skater who slipped during the race.

"The ice condition on race day was worse than during training. We'll need to skate differently in competition," said Lim Jong-eon of Goyang City Hall after training. "The ice was so soft that skaters overall struggled, and there were many mistakes."

Foreign athletes echoed similar concerns. William Dandjinou of Canada, the world's top-ranked men's team, said, "The ice condition was very poor, and I had trouble adapting." Jens van 't Wout of the Netherlands added, "The ice quality was tricky and made competing difficult."

Corinne Stoddard of the United States, who fell in the mixed 2000m semifinal and took down Korea's Kim Gil-li of Seongnam City Hall, slipped three times in a single day, including in the women's 500m preliminary. Sandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands also fell in the mixed relay semifinal, ending her team's finals hopes. The Netherlands won the fourth World Tour event this season.

While powerhouse teams fall victim to unpredictable ice conditions, Italy is enjoying home-track advantage. The host nation defeated top-ranked Canada to win the mixed 2000m relay. "The ice quality is tricky, that's true, but we adapted well," said Pietro Sighel of Italy's men's team.

Milan Ice Skating Arena hosts both short track and figure skating events, sometimes on the same day with morning and afternoon sessions. This complicates ice thickness management. Figure skating requires thinner ice around 3 centimeters, while short track needs thicker, harder ice around 5 centimeters. Insufficient thickness makes short track skates unstable.

The organizing committee denies any issues. "Only a small number of skaters have raised ice quality concerns," spokesman Luca Casassa said at a January 12 press conference. "Ice makers measure temperature and check conditions during competition. Our ice management has received positive reviews."