MILAN, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Dutch short track speed skater Jens van't Wout captured his second gold medal at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games on Saturday, powering to victory in the men's 1,500 meters at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Van't Wout clocked two minutes and 12.219 seconds to secure the title, adding the 1,500m crown to the 1,000m gold he won on Thursday.

He surged to the front with 11 laps remaining and, despite briefly slipping to fourth, launched a decisive charge with six laps to go to reclaim control. Holding off a late sprint from the pack, the Dutchman crossed the line first. South Korea's Hwang Dae-heon took silver, while Latvia's Roberts Kruzbergs claimed bronze.

"I can't believe it. I made it to the final and I felt strong. But there were nine people. And just like in Beijing four years ago, the race was pure chaos. It was just like a treadmill of attacks constantly. So I just try to survive this race and then I ended up winning," said Van't Wout.

With five laps left, Chinese skater Liu Shaoang collided with Britain's Niall Treacy, a crash that derailed both Liu and his teammate Sun Long. Liu eventually placed seventh, Sun was injured and unable to finish, and Treacy received a penalty.

"I felt really good today. The 1,500m isn't my strongest event, but once I made it to the final, I wanted to fight for a medal. Unfortunately, I got bumped and knocked off the track, which is a bit disappointing," said Liu.

In the women's 1,000m heats, South Korea's Choi Min-jeong led the field in 1:26.925 to reach the quarterfinals. China's Gong Li, Zhang Chutong and Yang Jingru also advanced.

In the women's 3,000m relay, the Netherlands, Italy, South Korea and Canada booked places in final A. China briefly led with six laps remaining but was overtaken in the closing stages by South Korea and Canada, settling for final B.

The women's 1,000m resumes Monday, while the 3,000m relay finals are scheduled for Wednesday. ■