"Ready to Stay Up All Night?" South Korea's Taegeuk Warriors Eye a 'Golden Day' on the 21st... Three Gold Medals Expected to Pour In [2026 Milan]

With just three days left until the closing of the 2026 Milan–Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics, South Korea’s long-awaited ‘medal instinct’ is finally set to explode on a golden day.
On the 21st alone (Korea time), South Korea could capture up to three gold medals in short track and speed skating. Even amid fierce challenges from rivals, the Taegeuk Warriors are aiming squarely at the top of the podium with overwhelming skill and tight-knit teamwork.
The first roar to shatter the silence of dawn is expected in the women’s 1500m short track. It is an event where South Korea has been utterly dominant, sweeping four gold medals since the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

At the center of it all is Choi Min-jeong, who is chasing the historic feat of three straight Olympic titles. Joining her are Kim Gil-li and Noh Do-hee, who combined with Choi for gold in the women’s 3000m relay and are in peak form. Together, they are poised to deliver a race of overwhelming dominance that few can match. The ice in Milan is once again ready to become South Korea’s exclusive stage. Their strongest rival is the Netherlands’ Xandra Velzeboer, who has already claimed double gold in the 500m and 1000m. The women’s final is scheduled for 6:00 a.m. on the 21st (Korea time).
The heat from the women’s event will flow straight into the men’s 5000m relay, where South Korea is aiming to reclaim gold for the first time in 20 years. Standing in the way is the surging Dutch ‘Orange Army.’ Jens van ’t Wout, who swept gold in the 1000m and 1500m, and his brother Melle van ’t Wout, who has completed a remarkable comeback from a serious injury with silver in the 500m, are in the form of their lives.

But there is no reason to be intimidated. If individual events are a stage for pure speed, the relay is an ‘art of teamwork’ where four skaters must mesh like interlocking gears. South Korea’s signature push technique, which transfers explosive speed cleanly to the next skater, and its split-second, unconventional tactics that decide races in an instant, fully justify their status as world No. 1. No matter how brilliant the Dutch brothers’ individual skills may be, they cannot easily overcome the ‘relay DNA’ that South Korea has etched into the ice over decades.

The final exclamation point on this feverish day is expected to come from speed skating’s men’s mass start, led by ace Chung Jae-won. He is the Beijing Olympic silver medalist in this event.
Chung made a surprise appearance in the 1500m on the 20th and finished 14th. It was a calculated move to fine-tune himself for the mass start. Despite the sudden race entry, he said, "Competing in an actual race helped me relax and sharpen my sense of speed," expressing strong confidence. It was a perfect warm-up, allowing him to adapt to the ice again by skating the outer lane for the first time in a while.
Chung Jae-won already has his sights firmly set on the strongest title contender, Jordan Stolz of the United States.
He has even mapped out a specific winning strategy: "When Stolz launches that explosive sprint with two laps to go that no one seems able to follow, I will not let him get away." Banking on his unmatched cornering skills, Chung is targeting a dramatic late comeback to deliver a spectacular finale to South Korea’s ‘Golden Day.’
All the warm-up is over. Not even the emergence of powerful rivals can stop the Taegeuk Warriors’ relentless charge for gold. This is their first and last true golden day.
On the 21st, the hearts of the entire nation will once again pound as South Korea’s warriors on ice script another stirring drama.
jsi@fnnews.com Jeon Sang-il Reporter