American skater crashes during heat

American speed skater Brandon Kim attempted to lead Team USA to the final of the 500-meter short track event at the Winter Olympics on Monday, but was involved in an unfortunate incident.

Kim was competing against Jens van ‘t Wout of the Netherlands, Oleh Handei of Ukraine and Daniil Eybog of Uzbekistan in the seventh heat. As the group took one of the first curves, Kim, Handei and Eybog crashed. Van ‘t Wout finished ahead of the three.

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Kim was penalized and did not complete a lap in the race.

The Virginia native was competing in his first Winter Olympics for Team USA. He was a star on the junior circuit as he earned a bronze at the World Junior Championships in 2017.

Kim was also disqualified from the 1,000-meter short track heats last week. Van ‘t Wout won gold in the event.

OLYMPIC SKI JUMPER DISQUALIFIED FROM THE EVENT DUE TO BOOT SIZE

Brandon Kim of the United States, Oleh Handei of Ukraine and Daniil Eybog of Uzbekistan collide in the heats during the men’s 500 meters short track speed skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangué)

Team USA still has hopes of a medal in the 500 meter event, as Andrew Heo had the fastest time in his heat with a time of 41.136.

Americans have found it difficult to reach the podium at this year’s Olympics. As of Monday, Team USA has won 17 total medals, but only five gold.

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Brandon Kim of the United States competes in the men’s 1,000-meter short track speed skating heats at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Team USA finished with 25 total medals by the time the 2022 Beijing Olympics ended. That year the team won nine golds, nine silvers and seven bronzes.