02/12/26 03:02:00
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02/12 15:00 CST Dutch speedskater Xandra Velzeboer wins Olympic short track 500
gold after world record in the semis
Dutch speedskater Xandra Velzeboer wins Olympic short track 500 gold after
world record in the semis
By HOWARD FENDRICH
AP National Writer
MILAN (AP) --- Xandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands won the women's 500 meters
gold medal in short track speedskating at the Milan Cortina Olympics on
Thursday night after breaking her own world record in the semifinals.
Velzeboer finished first in the final in 41.609 seconds, ending Italian silver
medalist Arianna Fontana's attempt to become the first woman to win three
consecutive individual Winter Games short track golds at any distance. Fontana
was more than a half-second behind --- an eternity in a 500 --- with a time of
42.294.
That dominant display came after Velzeboer clocked an Olympic-record 41.853 in
the quarterfinals at the start of the evening, and established the new world
mark of 41.399 in the semifinals. She had set the old standard for the distance
of 41.416 in 2022.
Velzeboer, 24, added this gold to the one she received as a member of the Dutch
champions in the 3,000-meter relay at the 2022 Beijing Games. She's also a
three-time world champion in the 500.
Fontana's silver was the 13th medal of her Olympic career, extending her record
for short track. She got No. 12 overall --- and her third gold --- when Italy
won the women's 3,000-meter relay on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old Fontana is participating in her sixth Olympics. She made her
debut at age 15 with a relay bronze at the 2006 Turin Games.
Courtney Sarault got the 500 bronze for Canada.
The men's 1,000 final was later Thursday.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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