Dutch star Xandra Velzeboer wins 1,000 meters short track final for her 2nd Olympic gold in Milan

MILAN — Xandra Velzeboer was barely done celebrating her Olympic gold medal in the 500 meters when Dutch short track speedskating teammate Jens van ’t Wout won his second gold.

She said to herself, “OK, we’re not done.”

So, Velzeboer went out and won the 1,000 meters gold medal Monday, four days after she topped the podium in the 500 at the Milan Cortina Olympics. Van ’t Wout captured the men's 1,500 meters title on Saturday.

“Jens’ second medal gave me so much positive energy and also made me hungry for more,” Velzeboer said.

She finished first in the final in 1 minute, 28.437 seconds, with Canada's Courtney Sarault in second for the silver medal followed by South Korea's Kim Gilli, who took bronze.

Home favorite Arianna Fontana, in her sixth Games and owner of 13 Olympic medals in her career, was fourth.

Velzeboer passed Sarault with three laps to go and held off challenges, sticking her right skate over the line and raising both arms aloft.

A smiling Velzeboer then high-fived teammates as she took a victory lap and lifted both hands up to her helmet as if in disbelief.

“These Olympics are a dream,” said Velzeboer, whose feats have also included breaking her own 500-meter world record during the semifinals of that event.

The 24-year-old Velzeboer said she felt confident and loose thanks to her gold medal last week.

“Before the race I was already feeling like I can do this,” she said. “I was very excited for this day. I’m just super happy that I could use my speed in the 1,000 as well.”

Chilling at high speeds

Velzeboer went to Plan B pretty early on in the final. She had wanted to pass Fontana.

“She blocked me. I was like ‘OK, keep cool, chill a bit,'” Velzeboer explained, recalling that her coaches had told her “it’s nine laps, it’s long enough, so take your time.”

Sarault, the bronze medalist in last week's 500, led but went wide thinking the ice "had a little bit more glide than it did — it didn’t.” That allowed Velzeboer and Gilli to accelerate into the first and second positions, respectively, before the Canadian fought back to finish second in 1:28.523.

“My last one was bronze, this one is silver. We’re going up slowly but surely,” Sarault said. “I’m really proud of myself.”

The 21-year-old Gilli said she was “so happy” to win her first Olympic medal.

Velzeboer's victory keeps the 1,000 title in Dutch hands. Suzanne Schulting had won back-to-back golds in the 1,000 in the past two Games, but wasn’t entered in the 1,000 for Milan Cortina.

Fontana disappointed

The 35-year-old Fontana said she was building speed to make a move when she was bumped by China's Gong Li with a few laps to go. There was no penalty, though.

“Right in the moment when the Chinese skater hit me, I was ready to go in the front. I knew I was going to be able to find myself in first position at that moment,” Fontana said. “It didn't happen, and what upsets me is that I didn't have a chance to fight for a medal. It's upsetting.”

U.S. skater Kristen Santos-Griswold was looking for redemption at these Games but couldn't get out of the quarterfinals. Four years ago at the Beijing Olympics, she was leading the 1,000 meters final before crashing when Fontana cut inside. The Connecticut native was the 2024 world champion at 1,000 meters.

Canada’s Kim Boutin, the 1,000 meters silver medalist at the 2018 Games, also failed to advance from the quarterfinals.

Heats for men's 500 meters

Van ’t Wout and Canadian short track star William Dandjinou were on the ice Monday, too, for heats in the men’s 500 meters. The medals will be decided Wednesday, starting with the quarterfinal heats. Among the 20 skaters will be van ’t Wout's brother, Melle.

Canada’s Steven Dubois, who won the bronze medal in the 500 at the Beijing Games, had the fastest heat of the morning, finishing in 40.284 seconds.

Pietro Sighel of Italy got spun when two racers crashed in his heat, which forced him to cross the finish line while skating backward. His second-place finish sent him into the quarterfinals.

South Korea’s Hwang Daeheon, the 500 meters silver medalist from the 2018 Games, didn’t advance.

Also Monday, the semifinals of the men's 5,000-meter relay were held. South Korea, the Netherlands, Canada and Italy advanced to compete for the medals Friday.