Feb. 17 (UPI) — Italy upstaged world record-holding Team USA to snatch gold in the 2026 Winter Olympics men’s speed skating team pursuit Tuesday in Milan.
Davide Ghiotto, Andrea Giovannini and Michele Malfatti combined for a 3:39.20 in the finale at Mlano Speed Skating Stadium. Americans Ethan Cepuran, Casey Dawson and Emery Lehman clocked a 3:43.71 to finish 4.51 seconds behind the Italians.
China beat the Netherlands, the defending gold medalist, for the bronze medal.
The Americans, who established a world record with a time of 3:32.49 in November, led the Italians through five of the eight laps of the gold medal race. The Italians slowly eliminated their deficit and pulled ahead for good with two laps remaining in the 3,200-meter clash.
Canadians Ivanie Blondin, Valerie Maltais and Isabelle Weidemann defended their gold medal with another victory Tuesday in the women’s team pursuit. The Netherlands and Japan earned respective silver and gold medals. Americans Brittany Bowe, Mia Manganello and Greta Myers placed fourth.
Look familiar? pic.twitter.com/GpCrhIHNOp— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) February 17, 2026
Several short track speed skating events, including the women’s 3,000-meter relay and men’s 500-meter final, will be held Wednesday in Milan.
The men’s 1,500-meter final will be held Thursday. The women’s 1,500-meter final and men’s 5,000-meter relay will be take place Friday. The men’s and women’s mass start finals will be held Saturday, the final day of the competition.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.