Arianna Fontana went up for her fourteenth Olympic short-track medal, but missed out after Kim Gil-li raced a perfect final and grabbed her third Olympic medal. Compatriot and South Korean speed-skating legend Choi Min-jeong won silver, while American Corinne Stoddard won bronze.
The 35-year-old Fontana took her time to thank the Italian crowd in the last Olympic race of her illustrious career, but it was Kim Gil-li who won her second gold medal of the Milan-Cortina Games after winning the women's relay alongside Choi.
Semifinals
Belgian Hanne Desmet, one of the dark horses for the gold medal, ended her Olympics in fitting fashion with a fall following contact with Noh Do-hee. Desmet fell short in the semifinal along with Canadian ace Kim Boutin and her compatriot, Danae Blais.
A packed second semifinal saw Suzanne Schulting, Xandra Velzeboer, Elisa Confortola, and Courtney Sarault battle it out for the final A. In a shocking turn of events, Confortola and Schulting took each other out, after which Velzeboer and Sarault fell completely untouched, handing Yang Jingru and Lam Ching Yan two shocking tickets for the final.
Schulting and Velzeboer's falls in the semifinal meant that the Netherlands, which had dominated short-track speed skating by winning four of the seven total gold medals, would not be represented in a short-track final for the first time all tournament.
Choi Min-jeong was joined by Corinne Stoddard and Arianna Sighel in the final from a close but clean semifinal.
Quarterfinals
Michelle Velzeboer, sister of two-time gold medallist Xandra Velzeboer, ended her disastrous Olympic Games in the first quarterfinal of Friday evening after falling in the final lap whilst trying to pass Zhang Chutong. Kim Boutin and Olympic champion Kim Gil-li made it to the semifinals along Zhang.
Li Gong, one of the top short track skaters in the world, was sent out of the 1500m after receiving a penalty for pushing Kamryn Lute on the inside - a manoeuvre that cost Yana Khan her race.
Belgian Tineke den Dulk lit up her quarterfinal with the Belgian king Filip after disappearing into the horizon early, making full use of her sprint speciality in the longer distance race. Choi Min-jeong and Arianna Sighel made it to the semis with her, along with Diana Laura Vegi, one of the fastest fourth-placed skaters.
After a two-year absence, three-time Olympic champion Suzanne Schulting returned to the sport in the quarterfinal, starting from the fifth spot. Schulting took the lead ahead of Xandra Velzeboer and Elisa Confortola and eventually finished third after a back-and-forth between the three women, who all made the semifinals.
Medical emergency
The sixth and last quarterfinal was subject to a re-skate after a catastrophic fall for Arianna Fontana, who was left injured, Kristen Santos-Griswold, and Kamila Sellier, the latter of whom needed immediate medical attention after getting a blade of the later disqualified Santos-Griswold's skate to the eye.
Fontana recovered quickly and still finished in the top 3 in the re-skate, coming in behind Hanne Desmet and ahead of Noh Do-hee.