Casey Dawson Debuts In Olympic 5000m Speed Skating, Places Eighth

MILAN, Italy — Park City native Casey Dawson fell short of the podium in his 5000m Speed Skating Olympic debut on Sunday.

Dawson came in as one of the event favorites, but a slower start put him too far behind the 8-ball to compete for a medal.

Team USA’s Casey Dawson Finishes Eighth in 5000m Speed Skating

Set to go in the eighth of 10 groups, Dawson was paired with Italy’s Davide Ghiotto.

The home country skater got the early jump on him, but Dawson was able to make up some ground after the fifth lap.

His first six splits were all ranked ninth or lower. After that, he picked it up with four straight splits in the top seven.

Back in 2022, Casey Dawson 🇺🇸 arrived in Beijing just 12 hours before his 1500m race ➡️ missing the 5000m. In 2026, it’s REDEMPTION TIME. Get to know the US skater! ⭐ #Olympics #WinterSports #WinterOlympics #ISUShowtime #MilanoCortina2026 #SpeedSkating pic.twitter.com/GHX05fOBBj

— ISU Speed Skating (@ISU_Speed) February 8, 2026

However, there was simply too much ground to make up. He crossed the finish line about 2.25 seconds after his pairing.

The next pair featured Norway’s Sander Eitrem and Czechia’s Letodej Jilek. Both of them set a new Olympic record in the event, with Eitrem smashing the record by almost five seconds. Those two claimed gold and silver, with Italy’s Riccardo Lorello getting bronze.

Team USA hasn’t claimed a medal in the 5000m Speed Skating event since 2006.

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Chandler Holt is a co-host of the Jazz Notes podcast, a Locals In The NFL Insider, and Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com. Follow Chandler on X for Utah Jazz and Locals In The NFL updates.

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