Relay (2,000 metres), Mixed

For the second edition of this event at the Olympic Games, the title was wide open. Since Beijing, the World title had been won by three different nations: Netherlands (2023), China (2024) and Canada (2025). In addition, the host nation, Italy, was the only one to have won a medal at all three World Championships. This variation was also shown in the 2025/2026 World Tour, where four different countries won a race: China, Canada, Korea and Netherlands, with the latter winning the overall classification.

There were no surprises in the quarter-finals, although the United States was lucky to advance despite a fall by Corie Stoddard. The semi-finals were more exciting. In the first heat, the Netherlands’ Xandra Velzeboer crashed out battling for second with China. In the second heat, Stoddard again fell – while leading, also causing the Korean skater to fall. This left the final spots for Canada and the surprising Belgium, which had only made it through the quarter-finals as a time qualifier. Korea filed a protest due to being impeded by the US, but it was disallowed.

After the Netherlands recorded an inconsequential Olympic Record in the B final, the final was again an exciting affair. Defending champion China took the early lead, but when Zhang Chutong went wide in a curve, Italian veteran Arianna Fontana took the lead. China, still in second, then saw Sun Long slip up, now falling back to last place. Italy held on for the home victory, with anchorman Pietro Sighel crossing the line backwards in celebration, ahead of Canada and the surprising Belgians, who had no reserve skaters for the team.

For Italy’s Arianna Fontana it was her 12th Olympic medal in her sixth Olympic Games, four more than any other short track skater. In the Canadian team, Kim Boutin earned her fifth Olympic medal, while Steven Dubois earned his fourth. Belgium’s bronze was the country’s second in the sport, following Hanne Desmet’s bronze in 2022. She was also on this team, along with her brother Stijn De Smet.