Short track: Hwang Dae-heon, Shin Dong-min reach men’s 1,500 final at Milan Olympics

Hwang Dae-heon races in the men’s 1,000-meter heats at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics at the Milan Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 10 (local time). [Photo=Yonhap]

Hwang Dae-heon (Gangwon Provincial Office) and Shin Dong-min (Hwaseong City Hall) advanced to the men’s 1,500-meter final in short track at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics.

Hwang finished third in semifinal heat 1 on Feb. 15 (Korea time) at the Milan Ice Skating Arena in Italy, clocking 2:15.83 in a seven-man race.

In the men’s 1,500 semifinals, the top two from each of seven heats advance, along with the fastest third-place finisher.

Hwang crossed the line third, but Shogo Miyata of Japan, who was second, was disqualified for a foul during the race. That moved Hwang up to second and into the final.

Hwang, the 2022 Beijing Olympic champion in the event, will try to win a second straight Olympic title in the men’s 1,500.

Shin took second in semifinal heat 3 in 2:17.21. He was running fourth on the final lap when two skaters ahead of him fell, allowing him to move up and secure a spot in the final.

The men’s 1,500 is South Korea’s most successful Olympic event in men’s short track. South Korean skaters have won gold four times: 2006 Turin (Viktor Ahn, then known as Ahn Hyun-soo), 2010 Vancouver (Lee Jung-su), 2018 Pyeongchang (Lin Xiaojun, then known as Lim Hyo-jun) and 2022 Beijing (Hwang).

The men’s 1,500 final, featuring nine skaters, is scheduled to begin at 6:35 a.m.

* This article has been translated by AI.

Kang Sang Heon