Xandra Velzeboer of Netherlands celebrates with the flag after winning the gold medal in the women's short track speed skating 500m finals in Milan, Italy, on Thursday, February 12, 2026. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPIDarryl CooteFri, February 13, 2026 at 4:28 AM UTC·1 min readFeb. 12 (UPI) -- Xandra Velzeboer of the Netherlands won the gold medal in women's 500-meter short track speed skating in Milan, Italy, on Thursday, after setting a world record in the semifinals.
The 24-year-old skated the four laps of the track in a blistering 41.609 seconds in the final race to win gold.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementVelzeboer took an early lead and maintained a large gap over the remaining four skaters for most of the race.
Italy's Arianna Fontana finished second with a time of 42.294 seconds and Canada's Courtney Sarault finished third with 42.427 seconds.
Velzeboer's win came on the heels of her setting a new world record of 41.399 seconds in the semifinals earlier Thursday.
Xandra Velzeboer of Netherlands celebrates after winning the gold medal in the women's short track speed skating 500m finals at the Milano Figure Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, on Thursday, February 12, 2026. Receiving the silver medal is Arianna Fontana (L) and Courtney Sarault (R) with the bronze medal. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPIFontana had won the gold medal in the 500 meters during the last two Winter Olympics, and with Thursday's silver medal, she now has 13 Olympic medals in total.
Xandra Velzeboer of Netherlands reacts after winning the gold medal in the women's short track speed skating 500m finals at the Milano Figure Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, on Thursday, February 12, 2026. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPIAdvertisementAdvertisement
