Fairfield Olympian Kristen Santos Comes In 4th After Speedskating Crash In Beijing

FAIRFIELD, CT — Fairfield native Kristen Santos finished fourth in Friday’s 1,000-meter short-track speedskating race at the Beijing Olympics after a collision saw her lose the chance to medal.

The 27-year-old was in the middle of the pack until a crash with Italian speedskater Arianna Fontana resulted in Santos finishing a distant fourth, with a time of 1:42.745. Fontana was penalized for causing contact and did not place.

Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands came in first at 1:28.391, claiming her third gold medal of the 2022 Winter Games. Choi Minjeong of South Korea took silver with 1:28.443 and Hanne Desmet of Belgium got the bronze with 1:28.928.

Santos accepted the result and said she’d been penalized “more times than I can count,” calling Fontana, “the nicest person in the entire world,” according to the New York Times.

“We’re all going out there and trying our hardest,” Santos told the Times. “No one is trying to get disqualified.”

Santos, who did not make it to the Olympics in 2018 after suffering an injury the month before the trials, will have another shot at a medal Wednesday, when she competes in the 1,500 meters, according to the Times.