Italian job pays off for Qi

After host nation Italy won the short-track speed skating mixed team relay gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Tuesday, the Milano Ice Skating Arena erupted into cheers.

Rinkside, one face stood out. A Chinese coach in Italian team gear, eyes brimming with tears, shouting "Italia, brava (Italy, bravo)!" and hugging each skater as they came off the ice.

For Chinese coach Qi Mengyao, who now guides Italy's short-track team, it was the perfect ending to her Olympic debut as a head coach.

"I was really, really excited, because this is the first gold medal," the 38-year-old said. "This is my first Olympics as a coach, and it's the first short-track final at these Games."

The Milano-Cortina Games marked the first time Italy secured a full Olympic quota in short-track. For Qi, the breakthrough was the culmination of three seasons in charge of the squad.

Before the Games, she had been open about her expectations in the relays.

"I felt we should have a medal," Qi said. "Going for gold is definitely difficult, but I thought there was hope."

Italy's strength, she said, lays not just in skating ability, but in temperament.

"I hoped that, in the atmosphere of the home Olympics, they would skate even better," she added.

Italy moved through the mixed relay quarterfinals and semifinals with confidence. In the final, against defending champion China and traditional powerhouse Canada, the home skaters showed no fear. When China, briefly in the lead, hesitated tactically, Italy seized the moment, made a decisive pass and held on for gold.

Four years earlier in Beijing, Italy took silver in the mixed relay.

The country had not claimed a victory in the event on the World Tour this season, making the home breakthrough all the more meaningful.

Behind it was a clear and disciplined race plan.

"Our overall strategy was to skate steadily and push the key parts of the race to the later stages," Qi said. "In the first laps, no matter if other teams passed us, or what the situation was, we didn't want to fight too hard. Even if we needed to overtake, we didn't want to make big moves. We wanted to save our energy for the end."

That approach shaped all three rounds.

"From the quarterfinals to the final, we were very stable," Qi said. "We didn't make spectacular passes, but we didn't make mistakes. No errors and no crashes. In a big event like the Olympics, I am really pleased with that. As the host team, for everyone to deliver probably the most stable skating of the whole season, that is very important."

Born in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin province, Qi was once a member of China's national short-track team. She retired in 2009 because of injury, later moving to Canada to study before beginning her coaching career. In 2023, she took over as coach of Italy's national team.

Under her guidance, Italy has made steady progress, taking one silver and one bronze medal at the 2025 world championships.

When she first arrived, Qi said it took a full season to build trust with her skaters, particularly established figures such as Pietro Sighel.

"I don't want to change him," she said. "I want to use my philosophy to support his own understanding of skating. We sit down together and watch videos to find problems, and to see if we are seeing the same things. If we see the same problems, then we look for solutions together."

That collaborative approach has resonated with the team.

"She has given us a lot of guidance technically," Sighel said. "She is an excellent coach, and we are very happy to have her. We skated very well today."

Asked to describe her coaching style, Qi laughed.

"As an athlete, I grew up in the Chinese system. As a coach, I grew up in the Canadian coaching system," she said.

"I am probably a bit stricter than Western coaches, and a bit more easygoing than Eastern coaches — I'm somewhere in the middle."

Qi's personal motto is simple: Passion is energy.

"As long as you really like what you do, you will have enough energy to accomplish what you want," she said.

For Qi, the gold medal carried meaning beyond professional success.

"It's not only a dream come true, it's like a dream within a dream," she said. "At a home Games, to win an Olympic title, whether for an athlete or for a coach, that carries extra weight."

Her family is set to arrive in Italy soon to share the moment.

"On February 17, Chinese New Year, they will all come to Milan," Qi said. "We'll have a reunion, and then they will go to the rink to watch the races."