MILAN, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Stephen Gough, head coach of the United States short track speed skating team, has expressed confidence in his squad's continued progress ahead of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
The U.S. team collected 13 medals at the ISU World Tour this season and claimed one gold, two silvers and three bronzes at the 2024 World Championships. Several athletes have shown improved consistency, narrowing the gap with traditional powerhouses in the sport.
"We've been very blessed to have an exemplary role model in Kristen Santos-Griswold, who is very disciplined and does everything to the letter," said Gough, who competed for Canada at the 1994 Lillehammer Games.
Santos-Griswold won the women's 1,000m title at the 2024 World Championships and secured the Crystal Globe for the 2024-25 ISU World Tour.
This season, however, she has spent much time working to regain fitness following a crash at the 2025 World Championships. Despite the setback, Gough said he believes Santos-Griswold can improve on her fourth-place finish in the 1,000m at Beijing 2022.
Her teammate Corinne Stoddard finished this season with eight medals across four events, narrowly missing out on the Crystal Globe.
"She kept saying she wasn't fast enough or asking why her starts weren't good. The way to fix that is to get physically stronger," Gough said.
On the men's side, Andrew Heo emerged as a surprise 500m winner in the final World Tour event ahead of the Winter Olympics.
"It's step-by-step improvement with the results," Gough said. "There's every reason to believe they can continue to improve."
Over the past two editions of the Games, South Korea captured five of the 17 gold medals on offer, while China and the Netherlands each claimed three, with the remaining titles going to Italy, Canada and Hungary.
"When one team is dominant, everyone thinks they need to copy that team. But there are different styles and ways to do things," Gough noted.
He said the U.S. team is pursuing a different development path, focusing more on the athlete autonomy.
"What I like is that the athletes in our team have a lot of ownership over what they do and how they warm up," Gough added. "I see myself in the passenger seat while the athletes drive. There are areas to improve, but it's on them to grab the wheel and move forward."
