South Korea has completed its schedule at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in speed skating without winning a single medal. This is the first time in 24 years that South Korea has failed to win a medal in speed skating at the Olympics, since the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
On the 22nd (Korean time), South Korea placed its last hopes on long-distance specialists Jung Jaewon and Park Jiwoo in the mass start, but both failed to reach the medal positions.
The mass start is an event in which skaters race 16 laps on a 400 m track, and the final ranking is determined by the points they earn. The top six finishers receive points: 60 for first place, 40 for second, 20 for third, and 10 for fourth, and so on. In addition, at the 4th, 8th, and 12th laps, the top three skaters earn extra points of 3, 2, and 1, respectively.
Jung Jaewon looks disappointed after finishing fifth and missing out on a medal in the men's mass start speed skating final at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, held on the 22nd (Korean time) at the Speed Skating Stadium in Milan, Italy. [Photo by Yonhap News]
Jung Jaewon, who won the silver medal in the mass start at the 2022 Beijing Games, finished fifth with 6 points. Jung had aimed for a third consecutive Olympic medal after winning silver in the team pursuit at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games and silver in the mass start at the 2022 Beijing Games, but he failed to claim a medal at these Olympics.
In the men's mass start, Jorrit Bergsma of the Netherlands won the gold medal. The silver went to Viktor Hald Thorup of Denmark, and the bronze to Andrea Giovannini of Italy.
Bergsma and Hald Thorup broke away from the pack from the third lap. Jung Jaewon and the other skaters did not follow them. Since the color of the medals is ultimately decided by the order of crossing the finish line, they chose to conserve energy and aim for a late surge. In most mass start races, the skaters who break away early tend to tire in the latter stages and are often caught by the chasing group, but the flow of this final was different. The skaters in the chasing group hesitated while watching one another and missed their window to attack, allowing Bergsma and Hald Thorup to comfortably cross the finish line in first and second place. Bergsma's time was 7 minutes 55.50 seconds, about 10 seconds slower than the winning times of the two semifinals, 7 minutes 42.49 seconds and 7 minutes 47.23 seconds. Because the chasing group failed to mount a proper pursuit, Bergsma was able to secure the gold medal with ease.
Jung Jaewon fought for the bronze medal from within the chasing group in the final laps but was edged out by Giovannini by a narrow margin. Jung ultimately crossed the finish line in fifth place. His finishing time was 8 minutes 04.60 seconds, 0.18 seconds slower than Giovannini.
Park Jiwoo, competing in her third Olympics, was aiming for her first medal but finished 14th. In the women's final, unlike the men's race, intense tactical marking continued throughout, with no one making a decisive breakaway, and all 16 skaters constantly exchanging positions from start to finish. Park remained in the lower positions for most of the race and tried to make a late charge, but she failed to break into the medal positions. She crossed the finish line in seventh place and narrowly missed out on earning any points, and because she also failed to score any intermediate points, her overall ranking dropped significantly compared with her finish time.
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