Niall Treacy dramatically made his first Olympic final - and was left with nothing but pride despite an early ending.
Four years after his brother Farrell reached the same final in Beijing, Treacy got his tactics spot on, dominating from the front to progress through high-quality races in the quarter and semi-finals.
Ranked 22nd in the world and a narrow fourth at the recent European Championships, Treacy considered the 1000m his better chance but he crashed during the heats after tangling with Canadian Steven Dubois, a four-time world champion.
There aren't many sports as dramatic and chaotic as short tracks as skaters battle for every inch of ice around 110 metre laps at speeds of up to 40mph.
Treacy's tactics were clear; hit the front early, dictate the pace and stay out of trouble but issues in other semi-finals meant a huge nine strong field contested the final on crowded ice.
Against a stacked field, he again tried to take up the race but he collided with double Olympic medallist Shaoang Liu in the final to hit the ice, his final position ninth after a lengthy video review.
"It is not the result you want when you get to the final. I was skating really well," he said.
"I have only seen the review quickly. I didn’t see the guy, I felt like still trying to build speed. I had two of the best guys in front of me so I was trying to setup to cut to go back past them. I felt like I was in a really good position. I felt really strong.
"It’s not the result [I wanted] but I think if you told me at the start of the day that I would be in an Olympic A final, I maybe wouldn’t have believed you. I am really proud of what I did today."
Dutch skater Jens van 't Wout took gold with Korean defending champion Hwang Daeheon in silver and Lativa's Roberts Kruzbergs snatching a surprise bronze.
Great Britain last won an Olympic short track medal when Nicky Gooch won 500m bronze in Lillehammer in 1994, while Wilf O'Reilly won two gold medals when the sport was a demonstration event at Calgary 1988.
Treacy, 25, will be back at the Assagio Forum for the 500m next Wednesday and the experience of making a major final will only help his confidence, even if the shorter distance is not a signature event.
"It’s not bad, from skating in Solihull to skating in Milan," he added.
"Every race that you come into at an Olympics is absolutely solid. The guys field is so strong.
"The quarter-finals felt like a final for me, the semi-finals felt like a final, that’s why I was over the moon.
"It would’ve been nice to finish it off but I am proud of what I did.
"I hope the guys back home in the sport and watching were proud, I had a lot of fun."
Sportsbeat 2026