Short Track Olympic Games Milano Cortina

Winter Olympics: Camera operator down! Felix Roussel skids out of control in wild short track scenes as 1000m hopes at Milano Cortina dashed

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Short track usually delivers drama in plentiful supply, but Thursday's action was particularly chaotic, as Canadian star Felix Roussel sent a camera operator onto the floor after losing his footing in the men's 1000m semi-finals. Having contended at the front in the five-man pack, Roussel was sent skidding into the rinkside hoardings, dashing his hopes of making the final.

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Video credit: TNT Sports

There were extraordinary scenes at the Milano Ice Skating Arena as Canadian short track star Felix Roussel sent a camera operator to the ground after losing his footing.

Even by the unique, frenetic nature of short track, Thursday's action was utterly chaotic: in the women's 500m quarter-finals, one race had to be restarted three times after a series of falls at the first corner, in an incident branded "a farce" by TNT Sports commentator Rob Hatch.

And in the men's 1000m there was yet more drama, as Roussel was sent tumbling - with the unfortunate camera operator finding himself a little too close to the action.

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"Oh no!" Hatch exclaimed. "There goes Roussel, he’s on the ground, and he even takes the camera out there!"

With just two laps to go, Roussel led the five-man pack hoping to make it to the final.

But his dreams of a medal were dashed, as his legs were swept forward, landing on his rear.

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Video credit: TNT Sports

He attempted to get back to his feet, getting his left foot back on the ground in an attempt to re-join the group as they turned - but was straight back on his backside after contact with the nearby camera operator - and proceeded to crash into the rinkside hoardings.

The unfortunate incident ultimately dashed Roussel's hopes of making it to the final, as he finished fifth, coming in over 30 seconds behind fourth-placed Liu Shaoang.

Rim Jong-un of Japan won that semi-final, with Dutch star Jens van 't Wout in second - a little over half a second behind.

But it was Van 't Wout who went on to claim the gold medal on a chaotic night of action, as he shaded the final, finishing less than three hundredths of a second ahead of Sun Long.

The much-fancied four-time world champion William Dandjinou, meanwhile, missed the podium in fourth.

"I can't believe it. I went to the Olympics hoping, dreaming. But Dandjinou was so strong this season, and I had a rough season. I wasn't sure, but everyone on my team believed in me, and they brought me to that gold medal," Van ’t Wout said of his victory.

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"I just love this sport. If I wasn't going to be Olympic champion I'd still be doing it. I'm doing it to win, but that's the second thing. I really love short track. To me, it is art. It is a work of beauty, and a race like this shows that."

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

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