Short Track Olympic Games Milano Cortina

Team GB's Niall Treacy suffers dramatic disqualification with crash in final as he misses out on medal at Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games

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Niall Treacy battled through the quarter-finals and semi-finals to reach an Olympic final in the men's short track speed skating, until he crashed out and was disqualified. Despite the sour ending to an excellent day on the ice, the Brit insisted he was "over the moon" to get as far as he did against the odds. Watch every event of Milano Cortina 2026 live on discovery+.

'Disaster' for Treacy as Brit crashes out of 1500m final

Video credit: TNT Sports

Underdog Niall Treacy made the short track speed skating final at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games and, despite not getting the fairytale finish he hoped for, was proud of his efforts.

The 25-year-old was not only chasing Team GB's second medal of the 2026 Games, after Matt Weston's brilliant gold in the men's skeleton, but Britain's second-ever short track medal.

Of the 36 skaters who started the competition, he was one of the nine to reach the A final, despite not yet registering a top-eight finish at the World Championships.

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After coming through the quarter-finals, he won his semi-final with a time of 2:16.816 to set up his Olympic medal-winning opportunity.

But Treacy's dream of clinching Britain's first short track gold medal since 1994 came crashing down when he clashed with the Chinese pair Long Sun and Shaoang Lui.

Treacy led the race in the early stages but, with five laps to go, the Brit was in third place when he came tumbling down and crashed into the barrier.

He quickly brushed himself down and got back to his skates to finish the race but was later issued a penalty which meant he automatically finished bottom of the pile in ninth.

"It's not the result you want when you go into the final, I think I was skating really well," Treacy told TNT Sports after his race.

"I've only seen the review quickly, but I didn't see the guy. I felt like I was trying to build speed, I had the two best guys in front of me, so I was actually trying to set up to go back past them because I felt that I was in a really good position from today. I felt really strong.

'I didn't see the guy' - Treacy explains crash out in 1500m final

Video credit: TNT Sports

"It's not the result [I wanted], but if you told me at the start of the day, 'You're going to be in an Olympic A final', maybe I wouldn't have believed you. It's not the result [I wanted], but I'm really proud of what I did today.

"Hopefully, the guys back home in the sport and the good people watching were proud, because I had fun today. It's not the result I wanted, but I had fun."

Jens Van 't Wout continued the Netherlands' hugely successful speed skating campaign to claim gold - his second of the Games alongside his 1000m title.

Meanwhile, Daeheon Hwang (Korea) claimed the silver medal and Roberts Kruzbergs (Latvia) took bronze.

"Every race you come into in the Olympics is absolutely solid. The guys' field right now is so strong," Treacy continued.

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Video credit: TNT Sports

"We come into each race and we go, 'Right, top two. It doesn't matter what it is. It's top two, so just get top two'. So the quarter-finals felt like a final for me, the semi-finals felt like a final, so that's why I was just over the moon.

"All my family are here, so to have it with them is just amazing. It would have been nice to finish it off, but I'm proud of what I did."

Watch every event of Milano Cortina 2026 live on discovery+. Available across all subscription plans, starting at £3.99.

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