Milan: The short track speed skating competition of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics is set to commence on Tuesday with the eagerly anticipated mixed team relay event, marking the first medal event of the games.

According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea, historically the dominant force in short track speed skating with 26 Olympic gold medals, is looking for redemption after an unexpected early exit in the quarterfinals of the mixed team relay during its inaugural appearance at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. The mixed team relay, a 2,000-meter race consisting of 18 laps, requires each team to have two female and two male skaters, following a specific sequence: female No. 1, female No. 2, male No. 1, male No. 2, repeated twice.

In recent competition, the 2025-2026 International Skating Union Short Track World Tour saw four different nations-South Korea, China, Canada, and the Netherlands-each claim a mixed team relay gold medal. The Netherlands further showcased their prowess with two silver medals, while South Korea secured one silver and one bronze.

The mixed team relay will launch with quarterfinal races just before noon at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan. Earlier in the day, the venue will also host the heats for the women's 500m and the men's 1,000m events.

The evening session, beginning at 6:30 p.m., will feature Cha Jun-hwan and Kim Hyun-gyeom performing their short programs in the men's singles figure skating. Cha, in his third Olympic appearance, aims to recover from a shaky start in the team event on Saturday, where a mistimed double axel-a jump he typically executes flawlessly-left him with 83.53 points, over eight points shy of his season's best performance.