Italy won the first short track medal of the 2026 Winter Olympics, skating to gold in the mixed relay with Canada and Belgium rounding out the podium.

While China certainly has the talent to win back-to-back golds in the Mixed Team Relay, and the host nation will bring its best effort, South Korea has more than enough talent to score a podium finish, as does Canada, which finished fourth after being penalized.

MILAN — Canada got its first silver medal at the Milano Cortina Games on Tuesday as Montrealer William Dandjinou, Félix Roussel and Kim Boutin, both from Sherbrooke, and Courtney Sarault of Moncton, N.B., finished second in the mixed team relay final.

South Korea failed to reach the podium in the mixed relay in short track speed skating at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Tuesday. The quartet of Choi Min-jeong, Kim Gil-li, Rim Jong-un and Hwang Dae-heon finished third in their group in the semifinals at Milano Ice Skating Arena in

Arianna Fontana, Italy's most decorated Winter Olympian, led her team to gold in the mixed short track relay at the Milano Cortina Games on Tuesday.

As talented as many of the individuals on the men’s track team are, the collective team may be stronger than the sum of its parts. The team has won five consecutive outdoor Heps championships, as well as three of the previous five indoor Heps titles.