2026 Winter Olympics: Can China’s Short Track Team Defend Their Title Against Canada?

▲ Source: China’s ‘Sohu’

China, aiming for a second consecutive title in the short track mixed relay, views Canada as a greater threat than South Korea in defending their championship.

China’s ‘Sina Sports’ reported on February 10 that the first short track gold medal of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will be awarded today. The Chinese team, consisting of Gong Li, Zhang Chutong, Wang Xinran, Sun Long, Liu Shaoang, and Lin Xiaojun (known as Lim Hyo-jun in Korea), is targeting back-to-back victories in the mixed relay.

This event, newly introduced at the 2022 Beijing Games, will see defending champions China compete in the quarterfinals against Canada, Belgium, and Kazakhstan. Canada, the 2025 World Championship mixed relay winners, boasts a formidable lineup. The report emphasized that China must bring their A-game to advance smoothly to the next round.

Apart from Gong Li, the other five skaters must also compete in individual events before the mixed relay. The report highlighted that managing stamina and strategic athlete deployment will be crucial factors to watch in this competition.

▲ Source: China’s ‘Sina Sports’

The Milan Winter Olympics short track events kick off on February 10, starting with the women’s 500m preliminaries. China will field three athletes – Wang Xinran, Zhang Chutong, and Fan Kexin – in pursuit of gold.

Short track has long been a powerhouse event for China, rivaling South Korea’s dominance. At the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, Yang Yang broke China’s gold medal drought in winter sports by winning the women’s 500m event.

In the following three Winter Olympics, Wang Meng and Li Jianrou secured gold medals, leading China to an impressive four-peat in this event.

Fan Kexin, a 30-year-old veteran, is another strong contender in the women’s 500m. She’s a five-time World Champion in this event, including a remarkable three-peat from 2015 to 2017.

However, Olympic success has eluded her. At the 2014 Sochi Games, an unexpected fall in the semifinals cost her a spot in the finals. In the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, she was disqualified for a foul.

During the Beijing Games in her home country four years ago, a collision with a Canadian skater in the quarterfinals forced her off course, once again dashing her hopes of reaching the finals.

While Fan Kexin has collected gold, silver, and bronze medals across her last three Olympics, she has yet to reach the 500m final. China’s Sina Sports noted that all eyes will be on the veteran to see if she can break her streak of misfortune in this competition, hoping for a strong final push in her career.

▲ Yonhap News

South Korea will be represented by Choi Min-jeong, Kim Gil-li (Seongnam City Hall), and Noh Do-hee (Hwaseong City Hall) in the women’s 500m preliminaries. Choi Min-jeong, with three golds and two silvers to her name, could potentially set new records for Korean Olympic medalists based on her performance in Milan, making her first event highly anticipated.

A gold medal would tie Choi Min-jeong with Jeon Lee-kyung (short track) for the most Winter Olympic golds by a Korean athlete. Winning any two medals would bring her total to seven, making her the sole record holder for most medals by a Korean in both Winter and Summer Olympics combined. Currently, Jin Jong-oh (shooting), Kim Soo-nyung (archery), and Lee Seung-hoon (speed skating) share the top spot with six medals each.