US short track speed skater Kristen Santos-Griswold received a penalty on Friday, after her illegal lane pass contributed to a frightening collision during the 1,500-meter women's short track event.
The incident led to Poland's Kamila Sellier being stretchered off the ice after a competitor's blade sliced her above the left eye. Italy's 15-time Olympic medalist Ariana Fontana also went down in the crash.
31-year-old Santos-Griswold was subsequently disqualified from advancing to the Olympic short track semifinal, despite her quarterfinal efforts.
Illegal Kristen Santos-Griswold pass spurs short track pile-up
Race officials paused the competition while medical personnel attended to Sellier. A large white sheet blocked the injured skater from the packed arena crowd during treatment. Sellier eventually flashed a thumbs-up to spectators as workers wheeled her out, the ice stained red with blood where she fell.
Polish officials confirmed Sellier received stitches at the arena before heading to the hospital for additional tests.
Fontana's skinsuit sustained damage in the collision, and she received treatment from her physiotherapist during the pause. Despite the crash, Fontana finished second to Belgium's Hanne Desmet and advanced to the semifinal round.
Fontana later reached the finals by narrowly beating China's Chutong Zhang to the finish line, preventing the reigning 1,500-meter silver medalist from tying Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen as the world's most decorated Winter Olympian.
The penalty marked a disappointing end to Santos-Griswold's 2026 Olympic campaign, after the US speed skating star failed to reach the podium over the course of two Winter Games.
Short track speed skating kicked off Tuesday at the 2026 Winter Olympics, with Team USA's Kristen Santos-Griswold and Corinne Stoddard delivering a split result in the women's 500-meter heats.
Santos-Griswold won her heat with a time of 42.767 seconds, advancing to the quarterfinals alongside China's Chutong Zhang. And for the 31-year-old, the result opens a redemption tour four years in the making.
A crash on the final lap cost Santos-Griswold a bronze medal at the 2022 Beijing Games, knocking her off the 1,000-meter podium. She briefly considered retiring from the sport, before ultimately returning to become the world's top all-around short track skater.
Things didn't go as well for Santos-Griswold's US teammate Corinne Stoddard.
Racing against China's Xinran Wang, Japan's Rika Kanai, France's and Aurelie Leveque, the 24-year-old speed skater fell on the third lap to trigger a multi-skater pileup. She attempted to recover but stumbled again, effectively ending her race. She subsequently finished last with a time of 1:11.651.
Despite the setback, Team USA managed to advance three skaters overall, with Julie Letai also qualifying for the quarterfinals despite finishing third in her heat.
Santos-Griswold enters as the reigning Crystal Globe champion following a dominant 2024/25 season that included nine individual distance World Tour medals and a historic five medals at the 2024 World Short Track Championships. She stands as the first US women's short track speed skater to medal at three individual distances at a single world championship.
US women's speed skating hasn't reached an Olympic short track podium since 2010, as Santos-Griswold now leads Team USA's best chance of ending that drought.