Dutch speedskaters sweep short track golds at Milan Cortina

Velzeboer set a world record of 41.399 seconds in the semifinals before winning gold in the 500m final, denying Italy’s Arianna Fontana a third straight Olympic title.reuters
Fontana’s silver was her 13th Olympic medal across six Games, tying fencer Edoardo Mangiarotti as Italy’s most decorated Olympian.bbc
Van ‘t Wout surged past Canada’s William Dandjinou with one lap to go, winning the men’s 1,000m in a photo finish over China’s Sun Long.olympics

Netherlands Claims Two Short Track Gold Medals on Day 6

Dutch speedskaters swept both short track finals at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on Thursday evening, as Xandra Velzeboer won the women’s 500 meters and Jens van ‘t Wout captured the men’s 1,000 meters at the Milan Ice Skating Arena.

Velzeboer, 24, delivered a dominant performance throughout the night, setting a world record of 41.399 seconds in the semifinals before cruising to gold in the final with a time of 41.609 seconds. The victory denied Italy’s Arianna Fontana a third consecutive Olympic title in the event after the Italian had won gold in both Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022.reuters

Fontana Adds to Historic Medal Haul

Fontana, 35, finished more than half a second behind Velzeboer with a time of 42.294 seconds to claim silver. The medal was her 13th across six Olympic Games, tying fencer Edoardo Mangiarotti as Italy’s most decorated Olympian. Canada’s Courtney Sarault took bronze.foxsports

Velzeboer had also set an Olympic record of 41.853 seconds in the quarterfinals earlier in the evening, breaking her own world mark of 41.416 that she had established in 2022. The performance came just days after she fell during Tuesday’s mixed relay, costing the Netherlands a spot in the final.winnipegfreepress

Van ‘t Wout Stuns Favorite Dandjinou

The orange-clad Dutch fans had more reason to celebrate when van ‘t Wout pulled off a surprise victory in the men’s 1,000 meters. The 24-year-old surged past pre-race favorite William Dandjinou of Canada with roughly one lap remaining, then held off a late charge from China’s Sun Long in a photo finish.olympics

Van ‘t Wout clocked 1:24.537, edging Sun by just 0.028 seconds for gold. Rim Jong-gun of South Korea claimed bronze in 1:24.611, while Dandjinou, a four-time world champion who had dominated the race for most of its duration, faded to fourth after getting caught in traffic on the final lap.winnipegfreepress

“He had the most to do starting in fifth position,” commentary noted as van ‘t Wout celebrated his first Olympic gold.youtube