Kim Gilli Wins Bronze in Women's 1000m Short Track...Late Surge Grabs Attention

'Rambo Gilli' Kim Gilli has claimed her first Olympic medal with a bronze.

On the 16th (Korean time), at the ice skating arena in Milan, Italy, Kim Gilli finished third in the women's 1000m short-track final at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, coming in behind Xandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands and Courtney Sarault of Canada. Although she crossed the finish line in third place, she delivered a remarkable late surge, climbing from last place with four laps to go to briefly take the lead.

On the 16th (Korea time), Kim Gilli is circling the rink and greeting spectators at the Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, after clinching the bronze medal in the women's 1000m short track at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier in the semifinals, while running in second place, Kim Gilli was impeded and knocked down by Hanne Desmet of Belgium, and advanced to the final by referee's decision. Because she reached the final by advancement rather than by placement, Kim Gilli had to start the race from the disadvantageous outermost lane.

Kim Gilli did not overexert herself in the early stages and stayed at the back, looking for an opening. With four laps remaining, she increased her speed to move up to third place, and as she maintained her acceleration, she even took the lead with two laps to go. However, her body leaned slightly outward due to the high speed, and she immediately yielded the inside line to Velzeboer and Sarault, who overtook her, leaving her to cross the finish line in third.

Kim Gilli's time was 1 minute 28.614 seconds. She was 0.177 seconds slower than Velzeboer and 0.091 seconds slower than Sarault. Velzeboer became a double champion at this Games, adding this title to her 500m gold.

Choi Minjeong, who finished fourth in her semifinal heat and failed to reach the A final, came in third in Final B.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.