Chinese Skater's 'Unsportsmanlike' Racing Enrages Dutch Skater... Misses Medal Even After Re-race

Wennemars: "My Olympic dream is shattered"
Even with a re-race... finishes 5th after exhausting his energy

China, long notorious in short track speed skating for repeated fouls with so-called "bad hands," is now embroiled in controversy for unsportsmanlike racing in speed skating.

On the 12th (Korean time), an extremely rare situation unfolded in the men's 1,000m event at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, held at the Milan Speed Skating Stadium in Italy.

Dutch speed skating prospect Jup Benemares, 23, skated a solo rerun after all races in the men's 1,000m had been completed. However, his time was poor, and he was captured on the broadcast cameras covering his face in disappointment. He had been regarded as a strong medal contender in this event.

Yupeu Benemarseu of the Netherlands covers his face in disappointment after skating alone in the reskate of the men's 1,000m speed skating at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics at the Milan Speed Skating Arena on the 12th (Korean time). Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, Benemares had raced against Lian Ziwen from the inside lane in the 11th pair. The problem occurred just as the two were changing lanes while rounding a corner. As Lian Ziwen moved from the inside to the outside lane, the blade of his skate touched Benemares, causing Benemares to lose balance and fail to accelerate. Lian Ziwen effectively committed a "nuisance run" by clipping Benemares' skate blade. After crossing the finish line, Benemares expressed strong dissatisfaction toward Lian Ziwen.

Benemares finished his race in 1:07.58 and moved into first place at the time the 11th pair had concluded. The referees determined that Lian Ziwen was responsible for the collision and disqualified him. They also applied the rule that, during a lane change, priority is given to the skater moving from the outside lane to the inside lane.

However, once all races were completed, Benemares slipped to fifth place. The gap between him and bronze medalist Ning Zhongyan of China, who clocked 1:07.34, was 0.24 seconds. The gold medal went to Jordan Stolz of the United States, who set a new Olympic record with 1:06.28, while Benemares' teammate, Yening De Bo of the Netherlands, took silver with 1:06.78.

Yupeu Benemareuseu of the Netherlands is skating alone in the men's 1,000m re-skate at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, held on the 12th (Korean time) at the Milan Speed Skating Arena in Italy. Milan, Yonhap News

After Lian Ziwen was disqualified, Benemares requested a rerun and skated alone about 20 minutes later, but finished with a time in the 1:08 range. Having already expended his energy in the first race, he was unable to improve his time and ended up fifth overall. A medal that had seemed highly likely vanished in an instant.

After the race, Benemares vented his anger, saying, "The Chinese skater blocked my race. It was completely ruined," and added, "My Olympic dream has been shattered into pieces. My heart aches and it feels terrible." He continued, "Everyone here believes I would have won a medal," and said, "It was unfair to have a rerun with no competitor on the ice. The only way I could still win a medal was through a rerun."

Disqualified skater Lian Ziwen countered, "I don't know why I should get a penalty," adding, "I did not block him on purpose. No skater competes with such bad intentions. Rather, Benemares stepped on my blade, and I also lost speed."