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Twenty years and one day to the day that Italy won the inaugural Olympic Team Pursuit event at the 2006 Olympic Games in Torino, Davide Ghiotto, Michele Malfatti and Andrea Giovannini again seized gold in front of a home crowd in the Team Pursuit at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, outlasting favorites USA in a thrilling final on Tuesday.

In the Women's Competition, Canada retained their Olympic title in a battle of titans against the Netherlands, while Japan seized bronze after beating the United States in the final. 

Energy saving in the semis

To reach the final, Italy had a battle on their hands in the semi-final versus the Netherlands. Giovannini, Malfatti and anchor Ghiotto started a little slower than Chris Huizinga, Stijn van de Bunt and Jorrit Bergsma, who had replaced Marcel Bosker after the quarter-finals.

Halfway through the race, it turned out that the home team had paced their eight-lap effort better than their orange rivals. While the Dutch lap times went up, the Italians maintained their speed up until the line, leaving their opponents 1.79s adrift.

Italy's Davide Ghiotto, Michele Malfatti and Andrea Giovannini react after competing in the semi-finals © Getty Images

"We managed to beat the Netherlands, but also save some energy," Ghiotto said. "We did that very well."

USA's Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman, and Ethan Cepuran had an easier run in the semis, beating China by 7.93s. Saving energy had been difficult, however. Lehman explained:

"With three (laps) to go, I tapped (front skater) Casey (Dawson) on the back, and Ethan and I let up,” Lehman explained. “I think Casey just kept skating (laughs). He was doing those last three laps on his own. Our goal was to go out there and just hunt them down."

Italy does it again on home ice

In the final, the USA took the initiative after two laps, but Italy stayed close and took over the lead with 2.5 laps to go. They managed to keep their pace, while Dawson, Lehman and Cepuran slowly faded: Eventually Ghiotto, Malfatti and Giovannini clocked in a time of 3 minutes and 39.20s, with the USA finishing 4.51s adrift.

"It wasn't easy to beat the American guys today, and Netherlands in the first part (semi-final). They're both very good and strong teams, but we dreamed about this gold medal," Ghiotto said.

For the Italian anchor, the medal meant redemption after not collecting silverware in the individual 5000m and 10,000m races.

"This medal was super important for me after the disappointment of the 10,0000m,” he said. “We worked hard with the whole team. My teammates supported me and all of the other staff around the team, they supported me. 

"We realized that the Olympic Games were not over yet. The next day (after the 10,000m), I was already training again. We knew we could do well after having won the European Championships (last January)."

Ghiotto honored predecessors Stefano Donagrandi, Enrico Fabris and Ippolito Sanfratello, who won the inaugural Olympic Team Pursuit competition on home ice in Torino 20 years ago.

Ippolito Sanfratello, Enrico Fabris and Stefano Donagrandi competed for Italy in the Olympic Winter Games in 2006 © Getty Images

"We always looked up to Donagrandi, Fabris and Sanfratello. They made us aware that we could indeed achieve a good result, and what's beautiful is that our coach, Maurizio Marchetto, was the coach of the Italian team in 2006,” he said.

"For us, it's really important to win this event at home because speed skating is a small sport in Italy and this means a lot to the speed skating community in Italy." 

USA goes out with a bang

Dawson, Lehman and Cepuran cut frustrated figures after the race, but eventually offered a content reflection on their seven-year journey together. 

Ethan Cepuran, Casey Dawson and Emery Lehman (USA) thank the crowd after Tuesday's final © Getty Images

Dawson said: "There's always going to be bitterness. We came out here to win. The last four years it was the dream to get gold at the Games, but today, we put it all out there on the ice, and I'm just proud of these boys. Ultimately, it didn't work out in our favor, but a medal is a medal, and we're always going to be proud about that. 

"This is the last go-around for us three. So we're going out with a bang."

Cepuran added: "We knew they (Italy) were going to be tough. They're fighting for their home crowd. I want to thank all the American fans in the stands as well. They were awesome. 

"We knew it was going to be a battle through and through, and that none of this is given. At the end of the day, we're walking away with hardware, which is awesome. 

"We've been on this journey together for seven years, and we've consistently shown out at the top, and on that podium. Just that consistency is a tribute to our dedication to each other in this process, and I'll always be proud of that, no matter what.

"At the end of the day, you look at the three of us, and you'd be like: how the heck are they world champions? How the heck are they World Record holders? And five-time World Cup Champions. 

"It looks deceiving. Average Joe's pretty good, because the team, the sum is greater than the sum of the parts."

First Team medal for China

China beat the Netherlands to take an historic first bronze medal in a Long Track Team event for China. In the semi-finals, Liu Hanbin and Wu Yu skated with Ning Zhongyan, and in the B final Li Wenhao replaced Ning.

China secured bronze after beating Netherlands in the B final © Getty Images

The winning margin over the Netherlands had only been .09s. 

Li reflected: "When we were sprinting to the line, I kept staring at the big screen. It felt like the Netherlands crossed at the same time as us. At that moment, I just pushed my blade forward with everything I had."

Against the USA, China had cleverly saved energy for the bronze medal race. Ning explained: "We had a team meeting yesterday to discuss our tactics and how to distribute the technical aspects. In terms of individual ability and physical strength, we know there is a certain gap between us and teams like the USA. 

"We understand our level, so we treated the semifinal almost like a warm-up and planned to give everything in the final."

Canada retains title

In the Women's Competition, Canada (Isabelle Weidemann, Valerie Maltais, and Ivanie Blondin) beat the USA (Brittany Bowe, Mia Manganello, Giorgia Birkeland) by a 4.22s margin in the semi-finals before taking on the Netherlands in the final.

Netherlands took silver, Canada won gold and Japan secured bronze in the Women's Team Pursuit © Getty Images

The Dutch women had fought a tight battle with Japan in the semis, trailing by .18s at 200m from the line, Joy Beune, Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong and Marijke Groenewoud managed to turn it around in the last turn, finishing with a .11s advantage at the finish line.

That all-out effort had impacted their energy going into the final, Beune admitted: "Of course that affected the second race. You have to give it your all in the first semi-final, and there's only a short time to rest and get ready for the final."

Although the Canadian semi-final run had been less tight, Weidemann, Maltais and Blondin also felt fatigue going into the second race: "We had to approach it differently. Racing the Americans in the semi-finals, they have a very fast team. We knew we had to go in and race our best just to make it to the final. 

"We didn't want to play any games, we wanted to race every race like it was the last one and post a fast time every single time."

Maltais cherished the second gold medal, perhaps even more than the first in Beijing four years ago. 

"There were a lot of fans in the stands (laughs). That was insane,” she said. “When we went to the line and they said our name, it was so loud.

"And four years ago, we won every race for two years in a row. This time it was a struggle. 

"Last season, we almost didn't qualify for the world championships. We changed our strategy, trusted each other. It was different. Looking back, we've learned a lot from that one."

Isabelle Weidemann, Valerie Maltais, and Ivanie Blondin skated in their final Team Pursuit together © Getty Images

For Weidemann, Maltais and Blondin, Milan was the end of their Team Pursuit journey together. Maltais said: "We skated together for eight years. I don't think there are a lot of other teams that haven't changed their team over the last eight years, so to defend together has meant a lot. 

"But I also think that we knew going in that we were ready to pass the torch. There's another generation of Canadian speed skaters coming up, and we're really excited to watch them.

"At the end of the race, we still had our skates on, she was like: this is it? We go home?"

Blondin and Maltais are not done yet, however. They will skate the 1500m on Friday and the Mass Start on Saturday.

Despite being the reigning World Champions, Beune, Rijpma-De Jong and Groenewoud were not overly disappointed to take silver.

Joy Beune, Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong and Marijke Groenewoud (NED) wave to the fans after Tuesday's final © Getty Images

"I feel super proud. I am going back home with a medal,” Beune said. “We gave it our all. We couldn't have skated faster, so this is the result."

Takagi and Sato pass on torch in Japan 

Japan beat USA in the B final, with both teams changing their line-up between the two races. Japan skated with Ayana Sato, Miho Takagi and Momoka Horikawa in the semis, while Hana Noake replaced Horikawa in the final.

Japan's Momoka Horikawa, Miho Takagi, Hana Noake and Ayano Sato celebrate after winning bronze © Getty Images

Brittany Bowe, Mia Manganello and Giorgia Birkeland skated the semi-final for the USA, with Greta Myers taking over from Birkeland in the final. 

For Japan, the bronze medal also meant the end of a journey. Sato said: " Rather than finishing with regret, I wanted to finish with smiles. It is also the last time for this team to skate together. Having a medal at the Olympic Games is completely different from not having one. After winning gold and silver at PyeongChang and Beijing, I can feel proud to have added a bronze as well.

"PyeongChang (2028) was my first Olympic Games and I knew nothing about the Team Pursuit. I was learning from the others, and over time, I came to get a great understanding of this event. 

"The youngsters next to me (Noake and Horikwawa) have shown tremendous growth. We (Takagi and herself) have taught them everything we know, and as seasons go by, I hope their knowledge will deepen, so they can pass on that knowledge too."