Dutch skater van ‘t Wout wins second short track gold in Milan

Jens van ‘t Wout won the men’s 1500m in a chaotic nine-skater final, becoming the first Dutch man to win two individual short track golds at one Olympics.fieldlevelmedia
South Korea’s Hwang Dae-heon, the defending champion, took silver despite a knee injury, while Latvia’s Roberts Kruzbergs won his country’s first-ever speed skating medal.koreatimes
The Netherlands has now claimed three of four short track golds in Milan after Xandra Velzeboer’s 500m victory earlier in the Games.nbcolympics

Netherlands’ Jens van ‘t Wout Claims Second Gold in Thrilling 1500m Short Track Final

Jens van ‘t Wout of the Netherlands cemented his status as the breakout star of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on Saturday, winning the men’s 1500m short track final at Milano Ice Skating Arena to claim his second individual gold medal of the Games. The 24-year-old crossed the finish line in 2 minutes 12.219 seconds, holding off a chaotic field of nine skaters to add the 1500m title to the 1000m crown he secured just two days earlier.fieldlevelmedia

South Korea’s Hwang Dae-heon, the defending Olympic champion, took silver with a time of 2:12.304, earning his fourth career Olympic medal and extending his medal streak in the event to two consecutive Games. Latvia’s Roberts Kruzbergs captured bronze in 2:12.376, delivering his country’s first-ever Olympic medal in any speed skating discipline.asiae

A Chaotic Final

The race featured an unusually crowded field after a series of crashes and penalties in the semifinals resulted in reinstatements, sending nine skaters to the final instead of the typical five. Van ‘t Wout embraced the unpredictability, comparing the race to a casino game.

“This race with nine people was like a table of roulette in the casino. And the fact that I can win like this, really fight well — it’s insane,” van ‘t Wout said after the race.joins

The Dutchman revealed that coaches had shown him video footage of the 2022 Beijing final, which also featured an enlarged field of 10 skaters, to help him prepare his tactics. He took the lead with four laps remaining and never relinquished it, skating around the ice draped in the Dutch flag after his victory.fieldlevelmedia

Historic Performances

Van ‘t Wout’s double gold continued the Netherlands’ dominant short track showing in Milan. Combined with compatriot Xandra Velzeboer’s 500m victory, the Dutch have claimed three of the four individual short track gold medals awarded so far at these Games.nbcolympics

For Hwang, the silver represented perseverance through an injury-plagued season after he sustained a knee injury in November 2025 and entered the Olympics at less than full fitness. South Korea has now won five medals overall in Milan, maintaining its all-time lead in short track with 55 total Olympic medals in the sport.koreatimes

Kruzbergs’ bronze marked a breakthrough moment for Latvian winter sports, adding speed skating to a medal history previously limited to sliding sports like luge, bobsled, and skeleton.topendsports