South Korea Wins Women's Short Track Relay Gold After 8 Years

South Korea's women's short track team claimed the relay gold medal for the first time in eight years.

The Korean women's short track team—comprising Choi Min-jeong, Kim Gil-li (both Seongnam City Hall), Noh Do-hee (Hwaseong City Hall), and Shim Suk-hee (Seoul City Hall)—won gold in the women's 3,000m relay final at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. The event was held at the Milano Ice Skating Arena on January 19 (Korea time).

This marks South Korea's second gold medal at the Games, following Choi Ga-on's (Sehwa Girls' High School) victory in women's snowboard halfpipe. Korea's medal haul now stands at seven—two gold, two silver, and three bronze—led by strong performances in snowboard and short track.

Choi Min-jeong secured her sixth career Olympic medal, tying the record for most Olympic medals by a Korean athlete across both Summer and Winter Games. She also matched short track legend Jeon Lee-kyung's record of four Winter Olympic gold medals, the most by any Korean athlete.

Korea's women's relay team last stood atop the Olympic podium at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. The victory carries added significance as the first short track gold medal of these Games. Lee So-yeon (Sports Toto), who competed in the semifinal, also earned gold medalist status.

The race unfolded like a drama. First skater Choi Min-jeong started in the lead but dropped to third by mid-race, trailing Canada and the Netherlands. With 16 laps remaining, a Dutch skater fell. Choi, forced to take evasive action, fell further behind the leaders.

The team remained composed. Kim Gil-li, Noh Do-hee, and Shim Suk-hee mounted a determined chase. With five laps to go, Choi received a powerful push from Shim and overtook Canada to move into second place.

Final skater Kim Gil-li made her move with two laps remaining. She passed Italy on the straightaway to take the lead and held on to cross the finish line first.