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Twenty-three teams are represented across the nine Short Track Speed Skating events at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, but one country remains the undisputed heavyweight champion of Short Track: the Republic of Korea. 

Historically, Korea have 26 Olympic gold medals - more than double the tally of China in second, with 12 - and a huge 53 medals in total.

With a large number of competitive skaters in the country, they have a vast pool of talent to select from. Over the years, names like Ahn Hyun-Soo, Kim Dong-Sung and Jin Sun-Ya have all risen to the top.

Their current line-up is formidable. On the women’s side there is triple Olympic gold medallist Choi Min Jeong, plus former ISU Crystal Globe winner Kim Gilli, pictured above. For the men, Hwang Dae Heon heads to Milano looking to defend his 1500m title, while Rim Jongun is a phenomenal newcomer.

 Korean phenomenon Rim Jongun won 1000m and 1500m gold on his debut Short Track World Tour 2025 © ISU

Canada is looking to usurp the Asian nation. They’ve won the ISU Team Crystal Globe for two years on the trot, and boast the top ranked male and female skaters in William Dandjinou and Courtney Sarault. There are also brilliant racers like Steven Dubois and Kim Boutin, and they’re coached by former star Marc Gagnon. Previous Canadian Short Track legends include Charles Hamelin and Sylvie Daigle.

 Courtney Sarault (CAN) won the ISU Crystal Globe for being the best Woman skater on the 2025 Short Track World Tour © ISU

People's Republic of China is a historic powerhouse, with famous faces like Yang Yang and Wu Dajing. After a successful Beijing 2022, at which they won two golds, they haven’t had the best season. Can Shaoang Liu find form to retain the 500m he won at the last Olympics?

Milano Cortina 2026 host nation Italy head into the Games confident. Their greatest ever Short Tracker, Arianna Fontana, is still highly competitive as she enters her sixth Olympics, while there is a fine young crop of athletes coming through in Pietro Sighel, Elisa Confortola, Thomas Nadalini and Gloria Ioriatti.

 Pietro Sighel is one of the Italians looking forward to challenging for medals at their home Olympic Games © ISU

The Netherlands has always been a Speed Skating nation, but Short Track is starting to rival their traditional winter sport on the long-track oval. The likes of Sjinkie Knegt and Suzanne Schulting were trailblazers, while Xandra Velzeboer and Jens van ‘t Wout are both strong medal contenders at these Games.

Xandra Velzeboer celebrates victory for the Netherlands in the Womens 3000m Relay at the Short Track World Tour in Dordrecht © ISU

USA have had some great champions like Bonnie Blair and Apolo Ohno, and their current hopes lie with formidable women’s pair, Kristen Santos-Griswold and Corinne Stoddard.

Outside this ‘big six’, Poland and Latvia are having a moment, while the other countries to have historically bred champions, like Hungary and Japan, are waiting for their next sensation. Smaller delegations like Philippines and Brazil tried to qualify for the Games this time around – and got close – showing the ever-expanding appeal of the sport.