Kristen Santos-Griswold (USA) ISU Short Track World Tour Final 2024-2025 in Milan (ITA) © Getty Images

With the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games looming, there can be few winter sports with as much uncertainty and excitement for the season ahead as women’s Short Track Speed Skating.  

Last term, the race for the ISU Short Track World Tour Crystal Globe went down to the wire, with several potential winners of the regular season’s biggest prize still in the running on the final weekend.

Arianna Fontana (ITA), Kristen Santos-Griswold (USA), Xandra Velzeboer (NED) ISU Short Track World Tour Final 2024-2025 in Milan (ITA) © Getty Images

Eventually Kristen Santos-Griswold (USA) prevailed, narrowly ahead of Xandra Velzeboer (NED) and Corinne Stoddard (USA). 

Santos-Griswold grabs ISU Crystal Globe on thrilling final day of Short Track World Tour

Hanne Desmet (BEL) was not far behind the leading pack. Korean aces Choi Minjeong (KOR) and Kim Gilli (KOR) would have both been closer to the title, too, had they not missed races to compete at the Asian Games, while Italian great Arianna Fontana (ITA) also looked back to her best.

This time around, it is just as unclear as to who will claim the Crystal Globe, the World Championships – and those coveted Olympic golds. 

Men’s Short Track, and numerous other Olympic sports, have hot favorites. In women’s Short Track, however, the tightest of margins will decide things. 

They’ll also contribute vital points for their countries in the battle for the Team Crystal Globe, which was introduced with great success last winter. The Canadian Ice Maples, Korean White Tigers, USA Eagles and Dutch Lions will all have serious tilts at the title again.

Ice Maples Rising: Canada's Historic Crystal Globe Triumph

The first leg of a double-header of the ISU Short Track World Tour, held 9-12 October at the Maurice-Richard Arena in Montreal, should give some clues as to who will be grabbing the glory.

Santos-Griswold aims to retain title 

The USA’s Santos-Griswold had a breakthrough season. She has always had the speed, intelligence and versatility to become champion – she is equally accomplished across all three individual distances – but 2024/25 was the winter it all came together. 

The American overcame doubts about remaining in the sport, and some poor luck, to become world No.1.

She will be the one to beat again, but several racers will believe they can do it. 

Unbreakable Spirit: Kristen Santos Griswold’s Journey to the Crystal Globe

Kim (KOR) is one. Like Santos-Griswold, she is highly versatile. She won the Crystal Globe in season 2023/24, and would have pushed for the title this time again had she not missed two rounds of the ISU Short Track World Tour to compete in the Asian Games. 

Kim Gilli (KOR) at the ISU Short Track World Tour 2024-2025 in Seoul (KOR)

At 21, Kim is energetic and fearless – but boasts a flawless Korean technique and the race savvy of an athlete many years her senior. 

Choi Min-jeong (KOR) and Kim Gilli (KOR) at the ISU Short Track World Tour 2024-2025 in Seoul (KOR)

Talking of which, Kim’s teammate, close friend and mentor Choi Minjeong (KOR) will be fully focused this season. Choi is the most-decorated athlete on Tour: a four-time overall World Champion, with three Olympic golds in her collection.

Already a legend of the sport, Choi is known for timing her training cycles to peak in an Olympic season. She won the 1500m at PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022, having built up her form slowly before each of those Games.

Choi will be eyeing more Olympic golds and World Championships, as well as a debut Crystal Globe. Still extremely sharp, highly motivated and tactically peerless, it would be foolish to bet against her.

The Koreans generally have never disappointed in an Olympic season. After a quiet campaign on the Tour in 2024/25, expect that to change.

Velzeboer and Desmet lead European charge 

If there is one sure thing – relatively speaking – in the world of women’s Short Track, it is Xandra Velzeboer’s excellence in the 500m. 

If the Dutch ace can get to the first corner ahead in the fastest of the races on Tour, she is almost impossible to catch. The 500m gold at Milano Cortina 2026 is on her radar, and the Short Track World Tour will build up to that. 

Xandra Velzeboer (NED) ISU Short Track World Tour Final 2024-2025 in Milan (ITA) © Getty Images

But Velzeboer has of late proven herself far more than just a pure speed merchant. She has won over 1000m, and at last season’s Euros, proved she could triumph in the 1500m, too.

The Dutch racer came perilously close to lifting her first ISU Crystal Globe last season, and might have done so without a minor knee injury. 

Desmet (BEL) meanwhile, also had a landmark winter. She gained her first World Championship title, in the 1000m, and took risks galore as she swept to several impressive World Tour medals.

Hanne Desmet (BEL) ISU Short Track World Tour Final 2024-2025 in Milan (ITA) © Getty Images

The powerful Desmet has become a master of the late pass, creating exciting races which sometimes result in her snatching glory – and at other times in her picking up penalties. Her race management will likely dictate how this season pans out, but it’s unlikely to be boring.  

Fontana aims for immortality 

As the season advances, so will the profile of one of Short Track’s greats – Arianna Fontana of the Italian Gladiators. She is building up to her sixth Olympic Games – her first was as a 15-year-old debutante at Torino 2006, also on home ice. 

Arianna Fontana (ITA) ISU Short Track World Tour Final 2024-2025 in Milan (ITA) © Getty Images

Fontana, Italy’s most decorated Winter Olympian with 11 medals, would love to retain the 500m gold she has won at the past two Games, and she is also looking to make history by participating in both Speed Skating and Short Track. It’s a fascinating mission – can she fight on two fronts?

Italy’s younger racers, including Gloria Ioriatti (ITA) and Elisa Confortola (ITA), will also look to consolidate the impact they made last term, as they build up to Milano.

Elsewhere, look out for Stoddard (USA). She was exceptionally consistent last season – making numerous podiums despite not winning that often – to put her name in the running for the ISU Crystal Globe. Stoddard can compete across the distances, and is so close to Santos-Griswold that they have a joint Instagram page. 

 Michelle Velzeboer (NLD) and Courtney Sarault (CAN) at the ISU Short Track World Tour Final 2024-2025 in Milan (ITA) © Getty Images

In Montreal, and across the season, meanwhile, Canada’s women will be looking to shine. After a hellish run of poor health and fitness, Courtney Sarault (CAN) returned to top form in Tilburg last season.

A fit and firing Sarault will be a contender for all the major honors. Alongside her, Florence Brunelle (CAN) is a rising star, while Kim Boutin (CAN) is an established great, especially in the sprint. 

It all starts in Montreal.