Kim Gilli of South Korea celebrates after the short track speed skating women's 1500m final A at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Cheng Min)

MILAN, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's Kim Gil-li captured gold in the women's 1,500 meters, and the Netherlands powered to victory in the men's 5,000m relay, as the Milan-Cortina Olympic Winter Games wrapped up its short track speed skating competitions on Friday.

Kim stayed in the middle of the pack through the early laps. With five laps to go, she began to accelerate and climbed into third place. Two laps from the finish, she slipped past compatriot Choi Min-jeong on the inside and held off the field down the stretch.

She clocked 2 minutes and 32.076 seconds to claim her second gold medal of the Winter Olympics. Choi took silver, while Corinne Stoddard of the United States earned bronze.

"I guess for myself, I am strongest in 1,500 meters, and I really wanted to get gold," said Kim. "So, I am super ecstatic about it. And being able to claim gold in such a stage like the Olympics is something that I am very happy about."

China's Yang Jingru adopted a drafting strategy in the first half of the race. She overtook two skaters on the inside during the penultimate lap and eventually crossed the line fourth.

"I learned a lot from those top-level skaters. They skate very smartly. For example, Kim Gil-li stayed very steady in front of me. But there's still a gap between us - I just couldn't match her acceleration. I hope I can surpass her in the next four years," Yang said.

Another Chinese skater, Zhang Chutong, finished fourth in final B.

In the quarterfinals, with six laps remaining, Kamila Sellier of Poland, Arianna Fontana of Italy, and Kristen Santos-Griswold of the United States collided. Sellier suffered a facial cut from Santos-Griswold's blade and was stretchered off the ice.

In the men's 5,000m relay final A, the Dutch squad surged into first with seven laps to go and steadily extended their advantage, crossing the line in 6 minutes and 51.847 seconds. South Korea finished second, followed by Italy in third.

"I'm just so incredibly proud of the team we are here, the team we came to the Olympics with. We've never been this close as a team, and I think it really shows in our overall performance. And for me, I mean, I've never been happier," said Dutch skater Jens van't Wout, who collected three gold medals and one bronze at Milan-Cortina.

In the men's relay final B, the Chinese quartet of Sun Long, Liu Shaoang, Lin Xiaojun and Zhang Bohao dominated the race to finish first.

With nine gold medals awarded in total, the short track program at Milan-Cortina came to a close. The Netherlands led the medal table with five golds, South Korea secured two, while Italy and Canada each took one. For China, it marked the first time since the 2002 Salt Lake City Games that its short track team finished the Winter Games without a gold medal. ■

Kim Gilli (R) and Choi Minjeong of South Korea celebrate after the short track speed skating women's 1500m final A at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Cheng Min)

Athletes compete during the short track speed skating women's 1500m final A at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Chen Yichen)

Yang Jingru (C) of China competes during the short track speed skating women's 1500m final A at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Cheng Min)

Yang Jingru (R) of China competes during the short track speed skating women's 1500m final A at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Cheng Min)

Gold medalists from the Netherlands, silver medalists from South Korea and bronze medalists from Italy pose for a group photo during the awarding ceremony of the short track speed skating men's 5000m relay at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Chen Yichen)

Athletes of Team Netherlands celebrate after the short track speed skating men's 5000m relay final A at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Cheng Min)

Lin Xiaojun (2nd L) of China competes during the short track speed skating men's 5000m relay final B at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Chen Yichen)

Athletes of Team Netherlands celebrate after the short track speed skating men's 5000m relay final A at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Xue Yuge)

Athletes of Italy celebrate after the short track speed skating men's 5000m relay final A at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Xue Yuge)

Zhang Bohao, Liu Shaoang, Sun Long and Lin Xiaojun of China react after the short track speed skating men's 5000m relay final B at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Xue Yuge)

Liu Shaoang of China waves after the short track speed skating men's 5000m relay final B at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Xue Yuge)

Sun Long (C) of China competes during the short track speed skating men's 5000m relay final B at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Xue Yuge)

Liu Shaoang (back) and Lin Xiaojun of China react after during the short track speed skating men's 5000m relay final B at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Xue Yuge)

Liu Shaoang (front) and Sun Long of China compete during the short track speed skating men's 5000m relay final B at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 20, 2026. (Xinhua/Xue Yuge)