The moment the Dutch went down... Choi Min-jeong’s superhuman balance turned it into gold [Milan 2026]

In a moment of crisis, the class of the team’s ace shone through. Even the misfortune of a Dutch skater crashing in front of her could not knock her down, thanks to her sheer ability to stay on her feet. Choi Min-jeong of the Seongnam City Hall team steadied the chaos in the race and delivered South Korea’s first women’s short track relay gold in eight years.
The South Korean women’s short track relay team of Choi Min-jeong, Kim Gil-li, Shim Suk-hee and Noh Do-hee produced a dramatic victory in the women’s 3000m relay final at the 2026 Milan–Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics, held on the morning of the 19th (Korea time) at the Milan Ice Skating Arena in Italy. All four skaters combined to create the win, but captain Choi Min-jeong’s experience and poise at the decisive moment stood out above all.

The turning point of the race came with 13 laps remaining. The Netherlands, considered the strongest favorite for gold, lost balance coming out of a corner and crashed. The impact spilled directly into the path of the trailing South Korean team. It was a hair-raising moment in which they could easily have been taken out together or forced off their racing line.
But Choi Min-jeong did not go down. She staggered when the contact came, yet somehow kept her balance and stayed upright on the ice. It was a stark contrast to the mixed relay earlier in the Games, where an unfortunate collision had ended in disappointment. The gap to the leaders widened for a moment, but because Choi held her ground at that critical instant, South Korea still had a platform from which to launch a comeback.

The opportunity Choi Min-jeong preserved was finished off by "next-generation ace" Kim Gil-li of Seongnam City Hall. After South Korea had gradually closed the gap, anchor skater Kim unleashed blistering speed, reclaimed the lead with two laps remaining, and crossed the line first with a roar.
With this, Choi Min-jeong became the protagonist of a record that will be remembered for generations in South Korean sport. Having already collected three golds and two silvers across her previous two Olympics in Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022, she added another gold in Milan to bring her career total to six Olympic medals (four gold, two silver).
That tally ties the South Korean record for most Olympic medals, held by shooter Jin Jong-oh, archer Kim Soo-nyung and speed skater Lee Seung-hoon, all with six.
Her four Winter Olympic gold medals also match the all-time Korean record held by short track legend Jeon I-gyeong. If she wins gold—or even just reaches the podium—in her remaining main event, the 1500m, Choi Min-jeong will stand alone at the top of South Korea’s Olympic history.
From the very edge of a fall, as she somehow refused to go down and regained her balance, a new chapter in South Korean short track history was carved at the tip of Choi Min-jeong’s skate blades.
jsi@fnnews.com Jeon Sang-il Reporter