A new ace has emerged in South Korean women's short track. The athlete drawing attention from foreign media is Kim Gil-li (Seongnam City Hall), who won three medals at her first Olympic stage.
Kim Gil-li crossed the finish line first in the women's 1,500 meters short track final at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, held on the 21st (Korean time) at the Milan Ice Skating Arena in Italy, with a time of 2 minutes, 32.076 seconds, and claimed the gold medal.
She passed South Korean women's short track legend Choi Min-jeong, who had been leading. Choi Min-jeong took silver with a time of 2 minutes, 32.450 seconds. The bronze went to America's Corinne Stoddard.
Kim Gil-li said, "I'm so happy. I can't believe it. I worked so hard leading up to the Olympics. That's why I believed in myself a lot." Through this tournament, Kim Gil-li also overtook Italian legend Arianna Fontana and surpassed Choi Min-jeong, who had been the face of South Korean women's short track.
Although Choi Min-jeong failed to achieve the first three-peat in an individual event in short track history, she congratulated her junior's "golden run." Even without a gold, Choi Min-jeong became the subject of new Olympic history for Korea by adding another silver medal.
Choi Min-jeong surpassed Kim Soo-nyung (archery·4 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze), Jin Jong-oh (shooting·4 gold, 2 silver) and Lee Seung-hoon (speed skating·2 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze) to become the seventh medalist and the all-time leader in total medals across the summer and winter games combined. She will remain a legend of South Korean women's short track. Choi Min-jeong considered this Olympics her last and handed the ace position over to Kim Gil-li.
Choi Min-jeong also congratulated her. Kim Gil-li said, "I still can't believe it. It's an honor just to have competed in the Olympics with Min-jeong unni, and I'm happy to stand on the podium together."
Kim Gil-li became a two-time champion at the tournament. On the 10th, in the mixed 2,000-meter relay, she was swept up in the aftermath of America's Stoddard falling. Stoddard collided into the trailing Kim Gil-li. It was a situation that raised concerns about injury. The path was rough from the first event.
But she shook off those worries and eventually began to collect medals one by one. On the 6th, in the women's 1,000 meters short track final, she crossed the finish line in third with a time of 1 minute, 28.614 seconds to take the bronze. She also beat Italy's legendary Arianna Fontana, a veteran in her sixth Olympic appearance. She could not hold back the pouring tears. All her teammates
On the 19th, she crossed the finish line in the women's 3,000 meters final with a time of 4 minutes, 04.014 seconds alongside Choi Min-jeong, Noh Do-hee and Shim Suk-hee to claim the top spot. At her first Olympics, after a bronze she also took a gold.
After Kim Gil-li's first gold, U.S. sports outlet ESPN noted, "And Kim Gil-li proved her nickname 'Lambor-Gilli.' Like the nickname taken from an Italian sports car known for its speed, she explosively passed Fontana as the finish line came into view."
After taking bronze and gold in succession and shedding tears, Kim Gil-li jumped with joy as she took her second gold. The new ace of South Korean women's short track clearly demonstrated her presence on the international stage.<
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