Milano Cortina 2026 - Team USA - Short-Track Speed Skating

[clemsonbeav 601]

Team USA 2026

 

Men - Andrew Heo, Brandon Kim, Clayton DeClemente - We won't be in the Men's Relay unfortunately.

 

Women - Corinne Stoddard, Kristen Santos-Griswold, Julie Letai, Eunice Lee, Kamryn Lute

 

History

 

In 2022, the USA did not medal.  Historically, South Korea has won the most medals, followed by China and Canada.  The USA has the fourth most.  Given that the overall winner of the 2024-2025 World Tour for the women was Kristen Santos-Griswold, I like our odds for at least one medal this time.

Edited December 15, 2025 by clemsonbeav

[clemsonbeav 601]

From ChatGPT when asking about the team

 

Athlete	Why They’re Significant
Kristen Santos-Griswold	Probably the most consistent American woman in short track right now. She had a breakout season, made podiums across multiple distances, and won her first Crystal Globe (overall points champion in a distance) in the 500 m. (NBC Olympics) She also broke national records at the U.S. Champs. (NBC Olympics)
Corinne Stoddard	Has been medaling at World Cups and World Championships, especially in relay and mixed relay races. She’s also one of the younger skaters with experience. (Wikipedia)
Sean Shuai	Very young (born 2006). He won gold in the 500 m at the Youth Olympics, and has strong junior-world performances. Could be one to watch for speed/500 m events. (Wikipedia)
Marcus Howard	Shows promise in men’s relay/mixed relay events; medaled at junior level, and has some strong relay results as part of the national team. (Wikipedia)
Andrew Heo	An Olympic returner (2022) with experience, plus recent international relay medals. His experience will matter. (Wikipedia)
Brandon Kim, Seung-Min Kwon, Justin Liu, etc.	These are on the men’s side athletes who made the National Team for 2025-26. Might not be favorites immediately for gold, but in short track, surprise runs happen — crashes, tactics, heat luck matter a lot. (usspeedskating.org)

If I had to guess, here are where the U.S. might be able to pull off some surprises:

• I expect Kristen Santos-Griswold to be the top medal hope among the women.

• On the men’s side, someone like Sean Shuai could pull a strong sprint result (500 m) if he continues improving.

• Mixed relays could be a place USA pushes harder, since depth seems stronger there this cycle.

• National records will continue to fall — some will come in domestic events, some on the World Tour, possibly in Milan where conditions will matter.

 

 

From last year's results on the World Tour

-No Men's medals at all.

-Santos-Griswold and Stoddard bagged 18 medals last year across all three distances.

-The Women's team snagged one bronze in the relay.

-The Mixed team earned bronze twice in the relay.

 

Also...

Santos-Griswold earned 5 medals at the 2024 WCh: One of each color for the various individual races, Silver for Women's relay, and Bronze in the Mixed relay.

Stoddard won the two relay medals, as well as a bronze in the 1500m at the WCh.

 

[clemsonbeav 601]

How we did in Montreal 1:

 

Men:

500m - Andrew Heo and Brandon Kim made the QF

1000m - Clayton De Clemente made the Repechage SF

1500m - Brandon Kim finished 7th in the B Final.  Andrew Heo made the SF.

Relay - Didn't make the SF.  Finished 2nd in the Ranking Finals (so 10th overall)

 

Women:

500m - Corinne Stoddard with the Bronze, Kristen Santos-Griswold finishing 1st in the B Final (so 6th overall).

1000m - Again, Stoddard with the Bronze.  KSG went out in the QF.

1500m - Stoddard with a third bronze.  KSG in 6th.  Kamryn Lute also made the SF.

Relay - Didn't make the SF.  Finished 1st in the Ranking Finals (9th overall).

 

Mixed Relay: Made it to the B Finals and DNS (so 8th).

 

It's obvious who our top two athletes are.  Hopefully the men can start seeing some better results, too.

[clemsonbeav 601]

How we did in Montreal 2:

 

Men:

500m - Andrew Heo and Brandon Kim made the QF - same as last week

1000m - Kim made the QF (an improvement)

1500m - Brandon Kim finished 3rd in the B Final (an improvement), and Clayton De Clemente finished 4th in the B Final (an improvement).  Andrew Heo made the SF (same as last week).

Relay - Made the A Finals!  (We finished 4th, but a nice opportunity to skate in the A Finals.)

 

Women:

500m - KSG with the Bronze, Corinne Stoddard with 4th.

1000m - Stoddard went down in the finals, finishing 4th.  Again, KSG went out in the QF.

1500m - Stoddard in 2nd, KSG with a bronze!

Relay - Finished 1st in the B Finals (5th overall).

 

Mixed Relay: Made it to the B Finals and finished 3rd (so 7th).

Edited October 19, 2025 by clemsonbeav

[clemsonbeav 601]

Haven't kept this up to date...but looks like the Men didn't do well enough to field a team for the Relay in Milano.  But Andrew Heo did score our one and only gold in Dordrecht in the 500m!   

[clemsonbeav 601]

Team announcement! 

 

https://fox40.com/sports/italy-olympics/us-speedskating-announces-short-track-speed-skating-team-for-winter-olympics/

 

"The athletes are returning Olympians Corinne Stoddard, Kristen Santos-Griswold, Julie Letai, Eunice Lee, and Andrew Heo, and first-timers Brandon Kim, Kamryn Lute, and Clayton DeClemente."

[clemsonbeav 601]

Stoddard out due to a crash in the 500m  

[clemsonbeav 601]

Short-track thoughts...

 

While I know we aren't a powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination, I did think we underperformed here.  I was thrilled when Corrine Stoddard nabbed the bronze in the 1500m.  But unfortunately, we just kept falling.

[bmo 266]

2 hours ago, clemsonbeav said:

Short-track thoughts...

 

While I know we aren't a powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination, I did think we underperformed here.  I was thrilled when Corrine Stoddard nabbed the bronze in the 1500m.  But unfortunately, we just kept falling.

When Stoddard didn't fall, she ended up on the podium! Is that 100% podium success when not falling lol?

 

Overall, a bit disappointing, but short track is so unpredictable. It's hard to set expectations in short track.