Dutch Dominance: Velzeboer Takes 1000m Gold at Winter Games

Velzeboer secures second gold at Milano-Cortina with 1000m win

Xandra Velzeboer wins gold in women's 1000m short track speed skating at Milano-Cortina Winter Games.

Xandra Velzeboer made a thrilling comeback in the women's 1000m short track speed skating final...

Xandra Velzeboer secured her second gold medal at the Milano-Cortina Winter Games with a thrilling win in the 1000m short track final, beating world no. 1 Courtney Sarault of Canada. Velzeboer's victory marks the Netherlands' fourth gold in short track speed skating at these Games.

The Dutchwoman dominated the final, taking the lead with three laps to go and holding off Sarault's late challenge. Kim Gil-li of South Korea took the bronze, while Italy's Arianna Fontana finished fourth in her 16th Olympic short track final.

Xandra Velzeboer made a thrilling comeback in the women's 1000m short track speed skating final, taking the lead from world no. 1 Courtney Sarault with three laps to go. Just when it seemed like she was cruising to victory, Kim Gil-Li of South Korea gave her a scare, briefly taking the top spot. But Velzeboer wasn't having it - she surged past Kim and built a gap, holding off Sarault's late charge to claim gold. Sarault settled for silver, while Kim took bronze.

Kim Gil-Li secured the bronze medal in the women's 1000m short track speed skating event at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, finishing behind Xandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands and Courtney Sarault of Canada. World no. 2 Hanne Desmet, a gold medal contender, was disqualified after colliding with Kim Gil-Li in the semifinal, allowing Kim to advance to the final.

UNREAL. 🧡🥹

🥇 Xandra Velzeboer - 1000M #Olympics #WinterSports #WinterOlympics #ISUShowtime #MilanoCortina2026 #ShortTrackSkating pic.twitter.com/7wyByMVQml

— ISU Speed Skating (@ISU_Speed) February 16, 2026

Arianna Fontana, who was aiming for her 14th Olympic medal, narrowly missed out, finishing fourth. Velzeboer, who won the semifinal, went on to claim the gold medal with a time of 1:28.437, followed by Sarault in silver and Kim Gil-Li in bronze with a time of 1:28.614.

Arianna Fontana secured her spot in the women's 1000m short track speed skating final, finishing second in the semifinal behind world no. 1 Courtney Sarault. Fontana edged out compatriot Elisa Confortola, while world no. 5 Choi Min-Jeong was penalized for taking out Alena Krylova, allowing Fontana's teammate to advance.

Dutch Dominance Continues at Milano-Cortina Games

Xandra Velzeboer's gold medal in the women's 1000m short track speed skating event marked the Netherlands' sixth medal at the Milano-Cortina Games, with four of those coming from short track events. Velzeboer, who previously won gold in the 500m, now has two individual gold medals, while Jens van 't Wout took home gold in both the men's 1000m and 1500m events.

The Dutch team's strong performance is a testament to their dominance in short track speed skating, with Velzeboer and van 't Wout leading the charge.

The Netherlands' medal haul just got bigger, thanks to Xandra Velzeboer and Jens van 't Wout's gold medals in short track speed skating! They're joining Jutta Leerdam and Femke Kok, who took home gold in the women's speed skating tournament, with Leerdam winning the 500m and 1000m events.

The Netherlands is currently third on the Olympic medal table, with Italy leading in second place with 8 gold medals, and Norway taking the top spot with 12 gold medals.