Great Britain’s Short Track speed skater Niall Treacy reached his first Olympic A Final in the 1500m at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games and claimed his maiden ISU Short Track World Championships medal, a 1000m bronze in Montreal, Canada, a month later.

The 26-year-old then swapped the ice for married life, tying the knot with his longtime partner, Canadian figure skater Renata Wong, before heading to Mallorca, Spain, for their honeymoon.

Now back on the ice in Nottingham, England, Treacy, who has trained with the Dutch team for the past year, is looking to build on the best season of his career as a new Olympic cycle begins.

Niall Treacy reacts after competing in the short track speed skating men's 1500m semi-final at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy. © Getty Images

The best season of his career

“It was definitely a really challenging and stressful season,” says Treacy. “But when you look back, you almost forget about that. It turned out better than I expected.

“The ISU Short Track World Tour results started coming together and the men’s relay became much more competitive.

“Making the Olympic A Final in the 1500m was the highlight of my skating career. The whole 1500m day was incredible. Making it through the quarterfinals and semifinals, seeing my family after every race and suddenly realizing I was actually racing for an Olympic medal was really special.

“The final obviously didn’t go the way I’d have liked. I was penalized for a lane infringement that led to a collision, but it was still an unforgettable day.

“Then, to top it all off with an ISU Short Track World Championships medal was the perfect way to finish the season. It was a really nice reward after such a difficult year.

“It was also really nice because so many people on the ISU Short Track World Tour were genuinely happy for me. I’ve skated with a lot of those guys for years, but I come from a nation that doesn’t have a lot of representation in Short Track, so seeing them buzzing for me was really special.”

Niall Treacy waves to the fans after receiving his bronze medal for the Men's 1000m final at the ISU Short Track World Championship 2026 in Montreal, Canada.© ISU

Wedding bells and a honeymon in Mallorca

“The wedding was incredible. It was perfect. Perfect weather. Everything went super smoothly, which was really good.

“We got married where I grew up, in Warwickshire. The church was the one I went to growing up and the venue was only about 15 minutes from my parents’ house. It was really nice to do it there. There were also quite a few guys from my team, coaches and whatnot.

“A couple of days later, we went on our honeymoon to Mallorca and just had some really nice, quiet days there.

“I’d been to Mallorca for cycling camps a few times before and always thought it was so beautiful. Renata had never been and it’s only a couple of hours from Birmingham Airport, so it was really convenient. We stayed in a part of the island I’d never really been to before and it was beautiful.”

Renata keeps him grounded

“Renata is brilliant. She always tells me she doesn’t love me for speed skating. It doesn’t matter what the results are, she’ll still be there at the end of the day.

“Whenever I’m stressed about competitions or selection, she’s always like, ‘I’ll still be here when you come back from training.’ It’s really reassuring.

“We actually spent the last six years doing long-distance until we got married. Now that we’re finally living together, it’ll probably take a bit of getting used to being apart again for weeks at a time. But at least we’ve had plenty of practice over the last few years.”

Back on the ice

“I hadn’t been on the ice since the ISU Short Track World Championships, so it was really nice to get back. I was a little bit worried that I’d be really clunky and forget how to skate when I first got back on.

“We started with quite a lot of technical drills and then did a few laps. Even though they weren’t quick laps, they felt quick.

“You just forget how enjoyable skating actually is. My feet were killing me, though, because they hadn’t been in the boots for so long. They get a bit soft, so it took a few days to get over that.”

Learning from the Dutch Short Track team

“I’d really love to improve my top speed. I think I’ve established myself more as a 1000m and 1500m skater. I’ll probably never become one of the very best sprinters, but I love the 500m and would love to become more competitive in that.

“Training with the Dutch has been brilliant. They had three guys in the Olympic A Final in the 500m, brothers Melle and Jens van ’t Wout, and Teun Boer, so they’re obviously doing something right.

“I wouldn’t say there’s anything revolutionary about what they do. It’s more about the quality of the environment. As soon as you arrive, you can feel you’re surrounded by athletes who all want to win Olympic medals.

“They’re all a great bunch of people and very friendly. Being around them really pushes my skating and I think that’s definitely one of the reasons my results improved last year.”

Jens van 't Wout interacts with Niall Treacy after competing in the Men's 1500m Short Track Speed Skating at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy. © Getty Images

Renovating the house and returning to university

“When Renata first moved over and we started living together, we spent a lot of time renovating the house. Lots of painting. Lots of trips to IKEA.

“I’ll also be going back to university this year. I study industrial economics at the University of Nottingham.

“I wanted to study something completely different from skating. When you’re an athlete, you spend so much time inside that bubble. It gives me another side to life and broadens my horizons a little bit.

“The university has been brilliant. They’ve been really accommodating with deadlines and recording lectures when I’ve been away competing. I honestly can’t thank them enough.”

Financial challenges

“We haven’t really had centralized funding in Great Britain, so when we sit down at the start of each year, it’s a challenge to figure out how we are going to compete with the top teams in the world. Are we going to do all the ISU Short Track World Tour events? Which competitions do we go to? Are we staying at Airbnbs to save money?

“It is definitely difficult trying to manage that but, hopefully, after the results we’ve had, some things will start changing for us. Hopefully, we are going in the right direction, not just for myself but for the other guys coming up as well.

“Training-wise, I think we’re on the right track. There aren’t any massive changes going into next season.

“It’s really just the culmination of consistency over the past few years. We’ll keep tinkering with little bits here and there and hopefully keep improving.

“We always set ambitious goals. There’s always the goal of an Olympic medal. We’ll break it down year by year, though. I’m excited to see if we can hit some of those goals.”

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