Italian Team Pursuit Skater Hits The US With Stephen Curry Celly After Defeating Them In The Final

Italy won the first medal in speed skating men’s team pursuit since 2006 when the event was introduced for the first time.

Italian Team Pursuit Skater Hits The US With Stephen Curry Celly After Defeating Them In The Final

Andrea Giovannini (red armband) hitting Steph Curry’s “night night” celebration as teammate Michele Malfatti (blue armband) celebrates the win (Image via Bleacher Report)

In Short
  • Italy's men's pursuit team won gold, defeating the previously undefeated United States in the final.
  • Davide Ghiotte, Andrea Giovannini, and Michele Malfatti ended a 20-year medal drought for Italy in this event.
  • Canada's women's team successfully defended their title, winning gold against the Netherlands by 0.96 seconds.

The hosts, Italy, continued their magical run with yet another gold to improve on their best performance in the Winter Olympics. The Italian team of Davide Ghiotto, Andrea Giovannini, and Michele Malfatti beat the undefeated United States in the Final A of the men’s pursuit at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium.

The 32-year-old Trentino, Giovannini brought back one of the most iconic celebrations of the basketball whiz Steph Curry after his team’s rout of the tournament favorites. Giovannini had his cheek on his hands as if slowly slithering into a sleep while skating on his victory lap.

The celebration, popularly known as the “night night,” made its way into Olympic history when Curry used it vigorously during the gold medal match against the hosts, France, in the Paris Summer Olympics.

Giovannini chose to emulate Curry since it was “emblematic of cold blood.” He was worried about forgetting to hit the celebration, but he did remember heading into the final lap. Giovannini said:

The last lap, we were in control. and I was just waiting for that finish line to emulate Steph.

After a sensational win over the Chinese team in the semifinals, the United States’ world record team of Casey Dawson, Ethan Cepuran, and Emery Lehman was projected to defeat the Italians in the final. They started on a good note with a marginal lead, which dwindled as the race reached the middle laps. In the eleventh split, they were finally overtaken by the opponents, who added on the lead to win by four and a half seconds.

The Italian team ended a 20-year-drought of a medal in the men’s team pursuit with the country’s ninth gold medal of the Winter Olympics 2026. The Italians last won a medal in this event in 2006 in Turin when it was first introduced for the first time.

In the Final B, China defeated the Dutch team by 0.09 seconds to win bronze in the men’s team pursuit. It was China’s first medal in the event while the Netherlands missed the podium once again.

The Canadian women retained the team pursuit title in a thrillng final over the strong Dutch team

After eight days, Canada didn’t have a single gold medal. In the last three days, they have won three of them, starting with Mikael Kingsbury’s gold in the dual moguls, Meghan Oldham’s impressive big air win, and now the title defense in the women’s team pursuit.

Isabelle Weidemann, Valérie Maltais, Ivanie Blondin competing in the women's team pursuit at Milano Speed Skating Stadium in the Milan Cortina 2026 (Image via COC)
Isabelle Weidemann, Valérie Maltais, Ivanie Blondin competing in the women’s team pursuit at Milano Speed Skating Stadium in the Milan Cortina 2026 (Image via COC)

The Canadian team of Ivanie Blondin, Valerie Maltais, and Isabelle Weidemann defended their gold from Beijing, defeating the Dutch team in the final by 0.96 seconds. After the win, Blondin said that the trust between the trio after competing together for a long time was the driving force behind their win. Blondin said:

I mean, it means the world. I wouldn’t want to be standing here with anyone else. I think that the trust that we have with this team is what made that happen.

They were dominant throughout the event as the leaders in the quarterfinals, after a whopping win over Belgium in their heat. In the semifinals, they defeated their neighbors down south, the United States of America in yet another stellar race. The Japanese team, which included Miho Takagi and Ayano Sato, who won silver in Beijing, lost to the Netherlands in the semifinal and later defeated the USA in Final B to win the bronze medal.

Valerie Maltais had earlier won a bronze in the 3000m in Milan Cortina. Meanwhile, Blondin has her mass start event left to be completed. Blondin had won a silver medal in Beijing in the event. Weidemann also has her fair share of medals in the individual event, having won a silver and bronze in 5000m and 3000m in Beijing 2020.

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