In the four-and-a-half weeks since Pietro Sighel kicked off the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Short Track Speed Skating gold rush by skating backwards over the line to secure mixed relay glory for an ecstatic home team, life has changed immeasurably for those now able to call themselves Olympic champions. 

From discovering royal fans to dancing with pop stars, via inspiring a whole new generation, it has been roller-coaster that none have wanted to get off. Even as they consider the challenge of this weekend’s 2026 ISU CNSG Short Track World Championships. 

“Life got crazy after that,” Sighel’s gold-medal winning teammate Thomas Nadalini said with a smile in Montreal on Thursday. “That moment Pietro went over the line, I felt like we could do everything we wanted. We were kings and queens of the world. He made it iconic, he made it a picture that will stay in the history of Short Track. It’s been amazing since then.” 

Team Italy celebrate after winning gold in the short track speed skating mixed team relay final during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on February 10, 2026 © Getty Images

‘Side quest’ complete for Dutch pioneers

Those in orange know exactly what Nadalini is talking about. Five golds, a silver and a bronze has upended the sporting order back home. 

“The Netherlands really exploded with a love for Short Track,” the 1000m, 1500m and men’s relay gold medal winner Jens van ‘T Wout said. “It was always a little like the little brother of long track but now more and more people are starting to see how crazy Short Track is, and you see lots of comments and messages from people that are like, ‘Whoa, why didn't we start watching this earlier?’. 

“Me and Melle (his brother who grabbed relay gold and 500m silver) always had a goal to make Short Track big in the Netherlands, to have more kids start Short Track instead of going to Long Track right away. And lots of clubs have told us, ‘Thank you, we have so many people wanting to join our teams now’. So, for us, a side quest complete.” 

 Melle van 't Wout and Jens van 't Wout look at their medals on the podium of the short track speed skating men's 5000m relay final during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on February 20, 2026 © Getty Images

Add on the fact that people are stopping him for a photo in the supermarket, including “adults even” and it’s no wonder van ‘T Wout cannot stop smiling. And that is before the magnitude of his achievements have really sunk in. 

“Kjeld Nuis (three-time Olympic Speed Skating gold medallist) he came to me when we were at the King and he’s like, ‘That’s crazy man, you matched my whole career in one Olympics’ and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s pretty weird’.” 

Feeling what ‘an Olympics does to everyone’

Double gold medallist Xandra Velzeboer has certainly been “feeling the love” in the past month-and-a-half, with that team’s visit to the Dutch King and Queen the highlight. Alongside the joy of celebrating each win in style during the Games at the packed Dutch House in Milan. 

“It was completely full, one big party,” Velzeboer said. “I really missed that in Beijing, to feel what an Olympics does to everyone.” 

Not that the newly crowned 500m and 1000m champion has spent all her time partying. Indeed, she has revelled in being able to “go back to normal life” and find “that hasn’t changed”. 

Melle van ‘T Wout understands that desire. One of his favourite things has been getting back on the ice, even if it is with a slightly different outlook. 

“If someone is late to training now they joke, ‘I don’t care, we’re Olympic champions’,” Melle said laughing, before adding more seriously, “I feel like the whole team has a really complete feeling in their body.” 

Dancing with boy bands & driving Lamborghinis

For some, life has taken on a completely different slant since triumphing on the biggest sporting stage of all. Check out what was awaiting the 2026 women’s 1500m winner on her return from Milan. 

“When I arrived in Korea, I took an orange Lamborghini to get home,” Kim Gilli revealed, with a giggle. “It was really cool. They just gave me a ride from the airport to home.” 

And that is not it for Kim who got an even bigger and better surprise, when K-Pop band Cortis came calling. 

“They contacted me right after the Olympics to do a ‘(social media) dance challenge’ together,” Kim said of the band who boast 10.2 million Instagram followers. “I am a huge fan of them, so I was really happy and even super happier that I could do the dance challenge.” 

While the 21-year-old’s friends were “so jealous” of her, Kim has used such experiences to refuel. 

“I have been in a very happy mood so I could enjoy even training more,” she said. “And that made me feel that I skate better.” 

Inspiring the next gen

Steven Dubois celebrates after crossing the finish line to win gold in the short track speed skating men's 500m final during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan in February, 2026.© Getty Images

For men’s 500m champion Steven Dubois a first individual Olympic triumph is still a surreal concept. 

“It still doesn’t feel solid like the (Beijing 2022) relay (gold) does, this gold still feels like, I don’t know it’s weird, but that it could be a joke,” the Canadian said, with a smile. “I was thinking about it yesterday – I think about it every day – and if I did that race again 100 times I think I would only win it 10 times. But it happened and it is amazing.” 

The chance to make it real in front of a Maurice Richard Arena crowd full of excited young kids this weekend is something Dubois cannot wait for. A feeling that Italy’s Elisa Confortola, part of that scene-setting Olympic mixed relay team, can squarely relate to. 

“We’ve done some cool meetings in schools to convince kids to try Short Track, we showed them our gold medals and our skates and suits,” Confortola said. “And actually, in Bormio now (where Confortola is from) we have more than 100 kids who want to skate. 

“They watched us on TV, they were cheering for us, and now they want to experience what skating feels like. We are super proud and super excited to see that.”