High-speed chaos on ice: What to know about short track speedskating at the Winter Olympics

By HOWARD FENDRICH, AP Sports Writer

The most decorated short track speedskater in Olympic history will be looking to add to her impressive medal tally in front of a home crowd at the Milan Cortina Winter Games. Here’s what to know about the short track competition.

How it works

Unlike long track speedskating, in which most events are 1-on-1 races against the clock, short track is about beating all of the other athletes grouped together on the ice while they sprint counterclockwise laps around an oval. In short track, the competitors wear helmets and gloves to offer protection from, among other things, blade cuts that could result from the frequent collisions and falls.

FILE – Canada’s Courtney Sarault competes in the women’s 1500 meters quarter final of the World Championships Short Track at Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Friday, March 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

FILE – United States’ Kristen Santos-Griswold, gold medal, leads Corinne Stoddard, silver medal, during the women’s 1000 meters final of the ISU Short Track World Tour and Olympics Milano-Cortina 2026 test event, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

FILE – William Dandjinou of Canada leads in the Men’s 1000m Quarterfinals Heat 2 for the ISU World Short Track Championships held at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

FILE – The United States’ Andrew Heo skates during the semi-final of the men’s 500 meters at the Four Continents Championship short track speedskating event Friday, Nov. 11, 2022, in Kearns, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

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Who to watch

Assuming she’s healthy — a hip flexor issue sidelined her for part of the season — Italy’s Arianna Fontana will be a must-watch athlete at these Olympics, both because of the support the 35-year-old from the northern town of Sondrio will receive from her countrymen in the crowd and her standing as the owner of the most Olympic medals in the history of short track. This will be Fontana’s sixth Winter Games and second at home: She was just 15 for the 2006 Turin Games and came away with a bronze from the 3,000-meter relay. That was just the start for someone who has collected 11 Olympic medals in all: two golds in the 500, four silvers and five bronzes.

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William Dandjinou was left off Canada’s Olympic squad in 2022 but has since won four world championship golds. Dandjinou and Courtney Sarault gave the Canadians a sweep of the men’s and women’s 2025 World Tour crystal globes.

The U.S. team will be led by Corinne Stoddard, Kristen Santos-Griswold and Andrew Heo.

Venues and dates

Short track will be contested Feb. 10-20 at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, also known as the Unipol Forum, in Assago, just outside Milan. It’s the same arena being used for figure skating during the Olympics. The competition begins with the mixed team relay on Feb. 10 and ends with the men’s 5,000-meter relay and women’s 1,500 meters on Feb. 20.

Memorable moments

Apolo Anton Ohno made short track matter to American audiences by claiming a total of eight medals, two gold, at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Olympics. One of the most famous — or, better, infamous — Olympic short track races came at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, where Steven Bradbury of Australia was way behind the other four finalists in the 1,000 meters but ended up with the gold when everyone else, including Ohno, crashed in the final turn.

Fun facts

Short track races don’t end with skaters leaning their bodies across the finish line, the way athletes do in running events in track and field. That’s because short track winners are determined by when a skate crosses the line; a chip worn near their ankle sends an electronic signal that is tracked.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics