Corinne Stoddard earns bronze in 1500m, halts U.S. speed skating drought

South Korea and the United States had a lot to celebrate as the curtain came down for short-track speed skating at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

While Koreans Kim Gil-li and Choi Min-jeong earned gold and silver in the 1,500 meters, Seattle native Corinne Stoddard captured bronze and halted a 16-year dry spell for U.S. women on the oval ice.

Katherine Reutter was the last American to capture an individual medal when she came away with a silver in the 1,000 meters at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Stoddard took the lead early in the race, but Choi and Kim surged past her with two laps remaining. Kim (2:32.076) edged Choi (2:32.450) at the wire and Stoddard crossed in 2:32.578.

"I led more than I would have liked," Stoddard said. "I knew I probably couldn't win with how much I had led, but I knew I could stay on the podium, so I just tried to defend my spot and stay on the podium."

The medal erased what had been a previously devastating experience for the 24-year-old, who fell in both the 500 and 1,000 meters and did not advance to the quarterfinals.

She went to social media on Feb. 15 to express her disappointment.

"This whole experience has been incredibly unfortunate, and I feel embarrassed by how many times I've crashed, especially since I'm not an athlete who's known for falling often," she wrote. "I also feel embarrassed by how much I've choked on the Olympic stage over and over again. This isn't what I planned to show the world I was capable of."

Stoddard was making her second appearance at the Games, having competing in Beijing four years ago.

--Field Level Media