"The short Korea in South Korea is amazing, a dramatic finale." Foreign media also admired the 女 3000m relay "Gold Run." [Milan Olympics]

*This content was translated by AI.

The "World's Strongest" South Korean women's short track team stood atop the podium in the women's 3,000m relay at the 2026 Milan/Cortina D'Ampezzo Winter Olympics. Major foreign media also praised the gold medal, which was achieved by a dramatic last-minute reversal.

The women's short track team consisting of Choi Min-jeong and Kim Ki-li (Sungnam City Hall), Noh Do-hee (Hwaseong City Hall) and Shim Suk-hee (Seoul City Hall) won the gold medal with a time of 4:04:014 in the women's 3,000m relay final at the Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy on the 19th (Korea time), beating Italy (4:04:107) and Canada (4:04:314).

It is the second gold medal in the Korean team's competition after snowboarding women's halfpipe Choi Ga-on (Sehwa Girls' High School) and the first gold medal in the short track event of the "hyo-ja event." The women's 3,000m relay gold medal is the first in eight years since the 2018 Pyeongchang Games and the seventh gold medal (one silver medal) won in nine competitions.

It was simply a drama that turned the tables. South Korea, which was trailing the lead, completely turned the game around with four laps to go before the finish line. Choi Min-jeong, who competed after Shim Suk-hee, overtook Canada to move to second place, and the last runner, Kim Ki-li, penetrated an explosive speed in-course with two laps to go to the finish line and beat Italy's Ariana Fontana. After that, Kim Ki-li did not give up the lead and was the first to cross the finish line before roaring.

Major foreign media also admired the "golden sprint" achieved by a great reversal.

The British daily Guardian said, "It was a really great race," adding, "Italy took the lead as the Canadian national team fell with the last few laps to go. Fontana was expected to face another gold medal moment, but South Korea succeeded in turning the tables at the last minute and won the gold medal," he said.

Italy's OA Sport, who missed the gold medal after being upset by South Korea in the last minute, said, "It was a tense final," adding, "Italy took the lead at the end of the race, but was overturned by South Korea, which was closely trailing in the final shift. South Korea, led by Choi Min-jeong's performance, won the gold medal after making a decisive breakthrough with the last two laps to go. Italy won a valuable silver medal."

NBC also said, "The Korean national team won the gold medal in the women's 3,000m relay for the seventh time, and won the event." "Korea, a traditional short track powerhouse, won a silver medal in the event at the 2022 Beijing Games." This victory is the first short track gold medal won by South Korea in Milan," he said.

The BBC, a British public broadcaster, said, "The women's 3000m relay final ended in a dramatic finale. Italy was on the verge of winning the gold medal, but South Korea succeeded in turning the tables at the end of the race and kept the lead until the end to win the championship," he said. China's Sohu Dotcom also said, "Korea overtook Canada and Italy one after another at the last minute. In particular, Kim Ki-li beat Fontana in the last two laps.

BBC commentator Wilf O'Reilly, a former British short-track speed skater, said, "Korean short-track speed skating is amazing," adding, "It was not successful in the individual competition, but in the relay, we always work together to perform well. Normally, I would have expected Fontana not to give up the lead, but South Korea is really strong in this event."

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*This content was translated by AI.