Niall Treacy, Britain’s lone representative in the high-octane world of short-track speed skating, delivered a performance that few saw coming at the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, on February 14, 2026. Ranked just 22nd in the world, Treacy wasn’t on many radars for a medal in the men’s 1500m event. Yet, in a sport where chaos is never far away, he found himself not only in the Olympic final, but briefly leading the pack and flirting with a place in British speed skating history.
Treacy’s journey to the final was already remarkable. At Beijing 2022, he finished 27th in the 1000m and, earlier in these Games, he’d crashed out in the first round of that same distance. But Milan seemed to spark something special. He was second in his quarter-final—no small feat given the depth of the field—and then powered through to win his semi-final, a moment captured by Reuters as he celebrated, arms aloft, at the Milano Ice Skating Arena. That victory put him in the Olympic A final, the first British speed skating finalist since Nicky Gooch’s bronze-winning skate in 1994.
With nine laps to go in the final, Treacy was out in front, holding his own among the world’s best. The commentators and fans alike could sense something extraordinary brewing. Former Team GB skater Wilf O’Reilly, speaking to the BBC, summed up the anticipation: “The winner of this race was always going to be the person who could stay out of trouble, but unfortunately, Niall Treacy had a collision. That is disappointing for him because he was skating so well—I was really expecting him to get on the podium.”
But in short-track, fortune can turn on a dime. With five laps remaining, Treacy went wide on a bend, colliding with China’s Sun Long. Both skaters crashed hard into the padded barriers, instantly ending their medal hopes. A lengthy VAR review followed, and the officials ultimately ruled Treacy at fault for the incident. Initially listed as finishing sixth, the penalty dropped him to ninth in the expanded final—one that included two additional skaters due to earlier semi-final collisions. The crash also saw China’s Shoaong Liu, another of the fallen, finish well behind, while Sun Long was unable to finish at all and needed assistance leaving the ice.
Jens van 't Wout of the Netherlands, a country that continues to dominate the sport, claimed the gold in a time of 2:12.219. South Korea’s Hwang Daehoen and Latvia’s Roberts Kruzbergs rounded out the podium with silver and bronze, respectively. For Treacy, the final result was gut-wrenching, but the journey there was nothing short of inspiring.
After the race, Treacy maintained his composure and reflected on the experience. Speaking to TNT Sports, he said: “It’s not the result that you want when you go to the final. I was skating really well, and I’ve only seen the review quickly, but I didn’t see the guy; I felt like I was still trying to build speed, I had got two of the best guys in front of me, so I was actually trying to set up to go back past them because I felt like I was in a really good position from today, I feel really strong. If you told me at the start of the day, ‘you’re gonna be in an Olympic Game final,’ maybe I wouldn’t have believed you, so yeah, it’s not the result, but I’m really proud of what I did today, hopefully, the guys back home in the sport, and the people watching were proud because, yeah, I had fun today.”
Treacy’s pride in his performance was evident, and he didn’t shy away from highlighting the challenges British speed skating faces. As the only Team GB short-track competitor at these Games, he called for more support from the top. “From a short track speed skating point in the UK I would love if we could have a bit more support from a higher up level. I think four years ago we got to a final, here we got to a final, we can prove that with the limited resources that we’ve got, we’re competing against these teams, the best teams in the world, and I think it’s just a testament that we have so much talent in the UK, and I think we need to capitalise on that a little bit better than what we are doing, so that’s why it was maybe a little bit difficult coming out here by myself.”
His journey from skating in Solihull to the Olympic final in Milan was, as he put it, “not bad from skating in Solihull to skating in Milan.” For a skater whose career had largely unfolded in the shadows—his only major international hardware before this was a European bronze in 2024, and he’d only cracked the top 10 at a world championship once—this Olympic campaign was a revelation. Despite the heartbreak of disqualification, Treacy’s ability to reach the final against the odds was a testament to his grit and determination.
The incident that ended his medal hopes was, in many ways, emblematic of short-track speed skating itself: fast, unpredictable, and sometimes brutally unforgiving. The sport, often described as “wacky races on ice,” is notorious for its pileups and razor-thin margins. O’Reilly’s comment—“the winner of this race was always going to be the person who could stay out of trouble”—rings especially true in light of Saturday night’s dramatic events.
For British speed skating, Treacy’s run reignites debate about funding and the future of the sport in the UK. After the end of Elise Christie’s career, UK Sport drastically slashed support for speed skating, leaving athletes like Treacy to fight for scraps against the world’s best-funded programs. Whether his performance in Milan will prompt a change remains to be seen, but his call for renewed investment is clear and urgent.
As the dust settles, Treacy isn’t done yet. He’s scheduled to return to the ice on Wednesday, February 19, for the 500m event, hoping to build on his momentum and perhaps, with a little luck, write a new chapter in British Olympic history. For now, though, his gutsy run to the 1500m final stands as a reminder of what’s possible—even when the odds are stacked high and the ice is slippery.
While the medals went elsewhere, Niall Treacy leaves Milan with his head held high and the respect of the skating world. Sometimes, just making the final is a victory in itself—especially when you’ve had to fight every step of the way.