Milan, Italy, February 19, 2026: China’s Ning Zhongyan has been crowned Milano Cortina 2026 men’s 1500m speed skating champion after setting a new Olympic record time of 1 minute 41.98 seconds on Thursday, February 19.
Ning, 26, beat pre-race favourite Jordan Stolz (USA), who took silver in 1:42.75. Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands won the bronze (1:42.82).
The race saw four athletes go under the previous Olympic record, including the three podium finishers and Dutch skater Joep Wennemars.
But Ning proved to be the fastest of them all, taking over a second off the Beijing 2022 Olympic record of 1:43.21 set by Nuis.
This was the third Olympic medal for Ning and first gold after he won bronze in the 1000m and team pursuit earlier in the Games.
After his victory, he spoke to reporters about the self-belief he needed to call upon to win gold in the ever-improving world of men's speed skating.
“After the Beijing Winter Olympics, the level in speed skating just kept getting higher and higher," he said.
"It felt like there was a mountain in front of me and, no matter what I did, I just could not get past it.
"But I never stopped believing in myself. I kept telling myself to stay patient, to keep putting in the work, to trust that all the effort would add up one day.
“Today was that day. Even now, it still feels a little unreal that I was able to do this.”
Stolz added: "Ning's time was a surprise; he had the race of his life. I was happy for him."
China now has three gold medals at Milano Cortina 2026, three silver and four bronze for 10 total medals, putting them in 12th place in the medal rankings.