Milan, Italy, February 11, 2026: Chinese speed skater Ning Zhongyan made up for the disappointment of Beijing 2022 by winning the bronze medal in the men’s 1,000 metres at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games on Wednesday, February 11.
Ning, who had finished fifth, seventh and 12th in his three events at Beijing four years ago, earned China’s first speed skating medal of Milano Cortina in a time of 1 minute, 7.34 seconds.
Jordan Stolz of the United States took gold in 1:06.28, breaking the previous Olympic record set by Dutch skater Gerard van Velde at Salt Lake City 2002. Stolz finished 0.50 seconds ahead of Dutch skater Jenning de Boo, who took silver in 1:06.78.
“Today's performance was close to perfect,” Ning told Xinhua News. “In the first 600 meters, I really delivered my best form. In the last 400 meters, my drop in speed was slightly beyond what I had planned. But I achieved my goal of winning a medal, which is a big boost to my confidence.
"The ice today was very good and fast. Many Olympic athletes broke Olympic records here. This is my best result at low altitude, so I'm very satisfied with today's performance," Ning added.
Ning, 26, won three gold medals at the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China and was one of China’s flagbearers at the opening ceremony of Milano Cortina 2026 on February 6.
China now has three medals at Milano Cortina – a silver in freestyle skiing and two bronze medals in snowboarding and speed skating.