High-speed chaos on ice: What to know about short track speedskating at the Winter Olympics

The most decorated short track speedskater in Olympic history will be looking to add to her impressive medal tally in front of a home crowd at the Milan Cortina Winter Games. Here’s what to know about the short track competition.

Unlike long track speedskating, in which most events are 1-on-1 races against the clock, short track is about beating all of the other athletes grouped together on the ice while they sprint counterclockwise laps around an oval. In short track, the competitors wear helmets and gloves to offer protection from, among other things, blade cuts that could result from the frequent collisions and falls.

Assuming she's healthy — a hip flexor issue sidelined her for part of the season — Italy's Arianna Fontana will be a must-watch athlete at these Olympics, both because of the support the 35-year-old from the northern town of Sondrio will receive from her countrymen in the crowd and her standing as the owner of the most Olympic medals in the history of short track. This will be Fontana's sixth Winter Games and second at home: She was just 15 for the 2006 Turin Games and came away with a bronze from the 3,000-meter relay. That was just the start for someone who has collected 11 Olympic medals in all: two golds in the 500, four silvers and five bronzes.

William Dandjinou was left off Canada's Olympic squad in 2022 but has since won four world championship golds. Dandjinou and Courtney Sarault gave the Canadians a sweep of the men's and women's 2025 World Tour crystal globes.

The U.S. team will be led by Corinne Stoddard, Kristen Santos-Griswold and Andrew Heo.

Short track will be contested Feb. 10-20 at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, also known as the Unipol Forum, in Assago, just outside Milan. It's the same arena being used for figure skating during the Olympics. The competition begins with the mixed team relay on Feb. 10 and ends with the men's 5,000-meter relay and women's 1,500 meters on Feb. 20.

Apolo Anton Ohno made short track matter to American audiences by claiming a total of eight medals, two gold, at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Olympics. One of the most famous — or, better, infamous — Olympic short track races came at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, where Steven Bradbury of Australia was way behind the other four finalists in the 1,000 meters but ended up with the gold when everyone else, including Ohno, crashed in the final turn.

Short track races don't end with skaters leaning their bodies across the finish line, the way athletes do in running events in track and field. That's because short track winners are determined by when a skate crosses the line; a chip worn near their ankle sends an electronic signal that is tracked.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

FILE - The United States' Andrew Heo skates during the semi-final of the men's 500 meters at the Four Continents Championship short track speedskating event Friday, Nov. 11, 2022, in Kearns, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

FILE - William Dandjinou of Canada leads in the Men's 1000m Quarterfinals Heat 2 for the ISU World Short Track Championships held at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

FILE - United States' Kristen Santos-Griswold, gold medal, leads Corinne Stoddard, silver medal, during the women's 1000 meters final of the ISU Short Track World Tour and Olympics Milano-Cortina 2026 test event, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

FILE - Canada's Courtney Sarault competes in the women's 1500 meters quarter final of the World Championships Short Track at Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Friday, March 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

FILE - Italy's Arianna Fontana competes during the women's 1000 meters final B, of the ISU Short Track World Tour and Olympics Milano-Cortina 2026 test event, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Two people were killed and six others injured in a shooting outside a Salt Lake City church Wednesday night while mourners were attending a memorial service inside, police said.

The shooting took place in the back parking lot of a house of worship for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Utah-based faith known widely as the Mormon church.

Authorities said no suspect was in custody Wednesday.

All the victims were adults. At least three of the injured were in critical condition, police said.

Police said they do not believe the shooter had any animus toward a particular faith. They also don't think the shooting was random.

“We don’t believe this was a targeted attack against a religion or anything like that,” Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd said.

The red brick church in the northwest Salt Lake City neighborhood mostly serves Tongan congregants and holds regular worship services in their native tongue, according to its website.

Upon hearing gunshots, residents from a low-income housing complex next to the church flooded outside to help victims and console dozens of people who had been attending a funeral for a person who was not identified.

Brennan McIntire said he and his wife, Kenna, heard several loud gunshots from their apartment next to the church parking lot while watching TV. He jumped off the couch and ran outside in flip-flop sandals to see what happened.

“As soon as I came over, I see someone on the ground,” he said. “People are attending to him and crying and arguing.”

Kenna McIntire came outside soon after and was rattled at the sight of first responders lifting an unconscious woman into an ambulance while people huddled around and sobbed.

The couple said they hear gunshots in their neighborhood almost daily, but never right outside their door.

“It was really heartbreaking to hear and see," she said.

About 100 law enforcement vehicles were at the scene in the aftermath, and helicopters flew overhead. Neighbors huddled in blankets next to a taco truck, watching the officers work and waiting for updates.

Police said they were reviewing license plate readers and surveillance videos from nearby businesses in their search for a suspect.

“This should never have happened outside a place of worship. This should never have happened outside a celebration of life,” Mayor Erin Mendenhall said.

The church, headquartered in Salt Lake City, was cooperating with law enforcement and said it was grateful for first responders' quick efforts.

“We extend prayers for all who have been impacted by this tragedy and express deep concern that any sacred space intended for worship should be subjected to violence of any kind,” church spokesperson Sam Penrod said.

About half of Utah’s 3.5 million residents are members of the faith. Houses of worship like the one where the shooting occurred can be found tucked into neighborhoods around the city and state.

The faith has been on heightened alert since four people were killed when a former Marine opened fire in a Michigan church last month and set it ablaze. The FBI found that he was motivated by “anti-religious beliefs” against Latter-day Saints.

Associated Press writer Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu contributed.

Police respond to a fatal shooting in a parking lot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)

Police respond to a fatal shooting in a parking lot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)

Police respond to a fatal shooting in a parking lot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Laura Seitz/The Deseret News via AP)

People hug each other after a fatal shooting in a parking lot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Laura Seitz/The Deseret News via AP)

Funeral attendees leave a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after a fatal shooting in the parking lot in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Laura Seitz/The Deseret News via AP)

Police respond to a fatal shooting in a parking lot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Rio Giancarlo/The Deseret News via AP)