South Korea’s men’s short track team won silver in the 5,000-meter relay at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics, matching its result from the Beijing 2022 Games.
In the final at the Milan Ice Skating Arena on Saturday morning in Korea, South Korea finished in 6:52.239. The Netherlands won in 6:51.847, and host Italy took bronze in 6:52.355.
South Korea was seeking its first Olympic title in the event since winning gold at the 2006 Turin Games, but settled for second place again.
South Korea skated in the order of Lee Jun-seo (Seongnam City Hall), Hwang Dae-heon (Gangwon Provincial Office), Lee Jeong-min (Seongnam City Hall) and Lim Jong-eon (Goyang City Hall). In the early laps of the 45-lap race, the team stayed near the back and waited for an opening.
With 30 laps remaining, Italy increased the pace. With 24 laps to go, Hwang pushed and Lee Jeong-min passed to move South Korea into third. The team closed the gap, and with 18 laps left Lee Jeong-min drove inside to take second. Lim then helped keep the position steady.
South Korea briefly moved into the lead when Lee Jeong-min passed the Netherlands on the inside with 13 laps remaining, and Lim and Lee Jun-seo extended the advantage. But with seven laps left, Hwang lost the lead to the Netherlands. With three laps to go, Lee Jun-seo dropped to third after Italy moved into second.
South Korea kept attacking, and with two laps remaining Hwang surged on the outside to pass Italy and held on for silver.
The relay silver was South Korea’s fifth short track medal of the Games and the team’s eighth overall.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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