South Korea's athletes continued to punch well above their weight at the 2026 Winter Olympics, adding a sixth medal to the national tally on Monday as the short-track speed skating team delivered on expectations — and the women's curling squad provided the tournament's most striking upset, defeating heavily-favoured China in a closely contested round-robin match.
Short Track: A Dynasty Holds
The ice oval remained South Korea's living room. The short-track squad extended the nation's unbroken run of Winter Olympic success in the discipline — a legacy stretching back to Albertville in 1992 — with another podium finish that delighted fans at home watching through the early hours. South Korea has now won more short-track speed skating medals at the Winter Olympics than any other nation, a dominance rooted in an extraordinarily competitive domestic league that produces world-class athletes at a conveyor-belt pace.
The medal adds to a Korean haul that already includes finishes across short-track, alpine, and biathlon events — a broadening of the medal portfolio that national coaches have been targeting since the PyeongChang 2018 home games.
The Curling Upset
But it was the women's curling team's defeat of China that captured the morning's headlines. Korean curling rose to global prominence at PyeongChang, where the "Garlic Girls" — nicknamed for their hometown of Uiseong, famed for garlic production — captured the nation's heart and a silver medal. The current squad has largely maintained that competitive level, and Monday's win over China keeps South Korea firmly in contention for the knockout stages.
China entered the tournament as one of the pre-competition favourites in women's curling following strong World Championship performances, making the Korean victory the most notable result of the morning session. The match was decided in the final ends after a tight mid-game exchange, with the Korean skip executing a precise draw shot to secure the win.
