Relay (2,000 metres), Mixed

The mixed relay, having already been held at earlier Winter Youth Olympic Games, made its début as a senior event in the 2018/19 World Cup season, and first gained Olympic status in 2022. Despite this, it was hard to pick a favorite, as not all nations had competed at full strength in the World Cups. China had won two of the four World Cup races in 2021/22, with Netherlands and ROC grabbing the other wins. In addition, Hungary had made the podium twice.

Just four of the 12 competing teams were eliminated in the quarter-finals, but notably among them was Republic of Korea, historically the most successful nation in short-track speed skating. More upsets came in the semi-finals, as the Netherlands crashed out in the first heat, at the hands of their star racer, Suzanne Schulting. The second heat saw both ROC and USA disqualified, after lengthy video reviews. Particularly the American’s dismissal, which favored the home Chinese team, was considered controversial.

Italy grabbed the early lead in the final, but China slipped ahead with a great maneuver by Ren Ziwei, followed by Canada. With slightly over six laps to go, Canada’s Florence Brunelle collided with Zsófia Konya of Hungary, for which Canada would later be penalized. This left China with a seemingly comfortable lead over Italy. But after the last exchange, Pietro Sighel closed the gap to Wu Dajing, even making an attempt to pip the Chinese at the finish line. It was just short of the gold, though, leaving China to win its first gold medal of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Of note, the podium featured both a pair of brothers – the Liu’s of Hungary – as well as a pair of sisters – the Valcepina’s of Italy.