BEIJING, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's Sun Long rebounded from earlier disappointment to claim silver in the men's 1,000 meters short track speed skating on Thursday, earning the country's first medal of the discipline at Milan-Cortina 2026.
Sun Long of China celebrates after the short track speed skating men's 1000m final A at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Cheng Min)
The two-time Olympian finished in one minute, 24.565 seconds, just 0.028 behind gold medalist Jens van 'T Wout of the Netherlands. South Korea's Rim Jong-un took bronze in 1:24.611.
Jens van 'T Wout of the Netherlands celebrates after the short track speed skating men's 1000m final A at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Cheng Min)
Earlier at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, Dutch star Xandra Velzeboer shattered the women's 500m short track world record, clocking 41.399 seconds in the semifinals to better her own mark set in 2022. She went on to claim gold in 41.609.
Xandra Velzeboer (front) of the Netherlands celebrates after the short track speed skating women's 500m final A at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Ming)
While much of the attention was on American star Chloe Kim's attempt at a historic third straight Olympic snowboard halfpipe title, South Korea's Choi Ga-on delivered the shock of the Games.
Gold medalist Choi Gaon of South Korea celebrates on the podium after the women's snowboard halfpipe final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)
Silver medalist Chloe Kim of the United States reacts after the awarding ceremony of the women's snowboard halfpipe final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)
17-year-old Choi stormed to gold in the women's halfpipe final with a stunning final run, denying Kim a three-peat and securing South Korea's first gold medal of the Games.
Choi Gaon of South Korea competes during the women's snowboard halfpipe final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Xia Yifang)
Austria's Alessandro Haemmerle defended his men's snowboard cross title in dramatic fashion, edging Canada's Eliot Grondin by 0.03 seconds in a photo finish, nearly identical to his victory margin at the Beijing Games. Jakob Dusek of Austria took bronze.
Jakob Dusek of Austria, Aidan Chollet of France, Eliot Grondin of Canada, Alessandro Haemmerle of Austria (L to R) compete during the snowboard men's cross final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Wu Huiwo)
Australia's Cooper Woods produced one of the Games' biggest breakthroughs, defeating Canadian moguls legend Mikael Kingsbury on a tiebreak after both scored 83.71 points. Woods earned gold on superior turns, while Japan's Ikuma Horishima took bronze.
Gold medalist Cooper Woods of Australia celebrates after the freestyle skiing men's moguls match at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)
Host nation Italy celebrated its first alpine skiing gold as Federica Brignone powered to victory in the women's super-G.
Federica Brignone of Italy competes during the alpine skiing women's Super-G at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy, Feb. 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)
Federica Brignone of Italy reacts after the alpine skiing women's Super-G at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy, Feb. 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)
Italy's Francesca Lollobrigida captured her second Olympic gold medal by edging Merel Conijn of the Netherlands by 0.10 seconds in the women's 5,000m speed skating.
Francesca Lollobrigida of Italy competes during the speed skating women's 5000m final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)
Francesca Lollobrigida of Italy reacts after the speed skating women's 5000m final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)
Sweden's Frida Karlsson claimed her second gold at the Games in the women's cross-country 10km individual event.
Frida Karlsson of Sweden shows her medal after the awarding ceremony of the cross-country skiing women's 10km interval start free match at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Tesero, Italy, Feb. 12, 2026. (Xinhua/He Canling)
Frida Karlsson of Sweden reacts after the Cross-Country Skiing Women's 10km Interval Start Free at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Tesero, Italy, Feb. 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang)
Germany took gold in the team relay with a new track record of three minutes 41.672 seconds to wrap up the luge competition.
Gold medalists from team Germany pose for a photo during the awarding ceremony of the luge team relay match at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina, Italy, Feb. 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)