MILAN — Corinne Stoddard made history Friday night.
The 24-year-old short-track speedskater from Federal Way captured a bronze medal in the women’s 1,500 meters — something no American had accomplished in 16 years.
Although Stoddard ranked No. 3 in the world, she had a difficult start to her second Olympic appearance, falling four times across her first three events.
With just one race remaining, Stoddard had one final opportunity to reach the podium in the 1,500 meters — the longest women’s Olympic short-track event at 13½ laps.
She built a strong lead early and remained near the front until the final two laps, when South Korea’s Choi Min-jeong surged ahead.
Choi was then passed on the outside by her teammate Kim Gil-li.
Stoddard held her position to secure the bronze medal.
The last American to win an Olympic medal in short-track speedskating was John-Henry Krueger, who earned silver in the men’s 1,000 meters at the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang.
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