Korean short tracker feeling 'great' after crash in relay

From left, short track speed skaters Lee So-yeon, Kim Gi-li and Choi Min-jeong train at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, Wednesday (local time). Yonhap

MILAN, Italy — After getting into what looked to be a devastating on-ice crash Tuesday during the Milan Cortina Winter Games, short track speed skater Kim Gil-li looked no worse for wear the following morning.

Other than a small bruise on her right elbow, Kim said she was feeling too great to be drawing any concerns or sympathy from others.

"Honestly, I am a little embarrassed to talk about this. It's really nothing. I don't think people should worry about me," Kim said with a smile after a training session at Milano Ice Skating Arena on Wednesday. She then pulled up the right sleeve of her tracksuit to show a small bandage on her right elbow.

Short track speed skater Kim Gil-li shows a small bandage on her right elbow to reporters after a training session at Milano Ice Skating Arena, Wednesday (local time). Yonhap

Some 24 hours earlier, Kim had run into Corinne Stoddard of the United States during the semifinals of the mixed team relay event. As the American skater lost her balance, fell to the ice and skidded toward the fence to her right, Kim got tripped up and fell on top of Stoddard, landing hard on her right arm.

"The moment it happened, it was such a shock, and I was afraid I might have broken something," Kim said. "But as timed passed by, I started feeling better. I was surprised how completely normal I felt later. I went for some tests, but I just ended up getting some treatment and taking some medication."

The collision was essentially short track speed skating in a nutshell, something that happened so fast Kim barely had time to react.

"We had some ground to make up, and I was just building up my speed," Kim said. "And after Corinne made the turn, I saw how she was struggling to maintain her balance. But I was already going too fast at that moment and couldn't get around her."

Immediately after the crash, Kim still had the presence of mind to extend her right arm to touch teammate Choi Min-jeong for an exchange, trying to keep South Korea in the race.

"Once I realized what happened, all I could think of was making that exchange with Min-jeong," Kim said. "I saw her skate toward me right away, and that's how we were able to make that touch so quickly."

Kim said she had not yet spoken with Stoddard about the incident or run into her at the athletes' village. Earlier Wednesday, Stoddard posted an apology to her U.S. teammates and to "any other skaters that were affected" by her crash.

Kim said an incident such as Tuesday's is par for the course in short track.

Korea's Kim Gil-li and U.S.' Corinne Stoddard crash in the short track speed skating mixed team relay semifinal during the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Tuesday (local time). AFP-Yonhap

"I've experienced something like this many times. It can happen any time," Kim said. "I am just used to a situation like this."

Asked about the tears she'd shed after the race, Kim said it wasn't for any physical pain, but for the fact that South Korea would not be able to contend for a medal.

Kim also said she received so much support from her teammates in the immediate aftermath and in the hours that followed.

"I cried so much in the locker room, and all of my teammates and my coaches reminded me that it wasn't my fault," Kim said. "They said I should forget about what happened in the past and should start thinking about my next race, because the relay was only our first one and we have many more to come."

Once back at the village, Kim said she put in conscious effort not to think about the crash. Chatting with Choi, the team's captain, and other teammates for hours helped because it kept Kim's mind occupied.

With the first short track medal event at her first Winter Olympics out of the way and the crash behind her, Kim said, "I might have been a little more nervous than I thought I was going to be yesterday, and now I think I will be able to enjoy the competition a little more."