Winter Olympics Day 6 Highlights: 1:58 Video

Jens van ‘t Wout secured gold in the men’s 500-meter short track event at the Olympic Winter Games in Milan on Friday, adding to the Dutch team’s growing medal count. The victory comes days after the Dutch mixed relay team was excluded from the final, an event that prompted a wave of negative messages directed at van ‘t Wout, according to reports from NOS Sport.

The 22-year-old van ‘t Wout acknowledged a different emotional state heading into the 500-meter race compared to his earlier silver medal performance in the 1,000 meters. “Lekker om al een plak te hebben,” he stated to NOS, indicating a more relaxed approach with a medal already secured.

Elsewhere in the competition, Norwegian Johannes Høsflot Klæbo achieved his eighth Olympic gold medal in cross-country skiing, winning the 10-kilometer freestyle race. This accomplishment ties him with Marit Bjørgen, Bjørn Dæhlie (both cross-country skiing), and Ole Einar Bjørndalen (biathlon) for the most gold medals won at the Winter Olympics, as reported by NOS Sport.

In the men’s 10,000-meter speed skating event, Jorrit Bergsma finished third, with one skater still to compete. Jílek currently leads the event. Kimberley Bos is scheduled to compete in skeleton later today, while Stijn van de Bunt and Jorrit Bergsma will also participate in speed skating events, according to NOS Sport.

The Games have also been marked by poignant moments, including Maxim Naumov’s participation in the figure skating competition less than a year after losing his parents in a plane crash. He performed his free skate on Friday evening in Milan, as reported by NOS.

Seventeen-year-old Choi Min-seo of South Korea dethroned defending champion Chloe Kim in the women’s halfpipe snowboarding final, marking a changing of the guard in the event, according to NOS Sport. Xandra Velzeboer also secured a gold medal in short track, describing her win as “the happiest day of my life.”

The Olympic Winter Games, celebrating its centennial anniversary, are being held across the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo from February 6th to 22nd, with over 3,500 athletes competing, as confirmed by TeamNL.