Daniil Yeibog of Uzbekistan Advances to 500m Short Track Quarterfinal at 2026 Winter Olympics After Mass Crash

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Uzbek speed skater Daniil Yeibog has advanced to the quarterfinals in the 500-meter short track at the 2026 Winter Olympics, despite a mass crash during his heat.

In the seventh heat, Yeibog competed alongside Jens van’t Wout of the Netherlands, Oleg Gandey of Ukraine, and Brandon Kim of the United States. On one of the turns, Kim made contact with Yeibog, causing the Uzbek skater to fall. In the process, Kim lost his balance and collided with Gandey, resulting in all three athletes crashing into the track barriers at high speed. Brandon Kim was disqualified for the rule violation.

Although Yeibog finished third in the heat with a time of 1:01.577, the judges allowed him to advance to the quarterfinals due to his competitor’s infraction. The heat was won by the Dutch skater in 40.567 seconds, with Gandey of Ukraine qualifying second with a time of 49.020 seconds.

After the race, Yeibog shared on Instagram that he had experienced “one of the scariest falls of my career”: “The blade of a skate passed just centimeters from my face. But the most terrifying part was realizing my own helplessness as two skaters came at me at full speed, blades forward. You have to remember, this is the Olympics — the stakes are incredibly high and the risk is extreme.”

He added that he suffered only minor injuries and intends to continue competing for medals. Ukrainian skater Oleg Gandey reported leg injuries and difficulty walking.

The 500-meter quarterfinal heat featuring Yeibog is scheduled for the night of February 18–19, at approximately 00:15 local time.

Yeibog specializes in short track. He previously competed for Russia but changed his sporting nationality in 2024 to join the Uzbek national team, completing a two-year quarantine from international competitions. He is a two-time medalist at the European Championships.