Czech speed skater Metoděj Jílek secured his first Olympic gold on Friday by winning the 10,000-meter race at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan. The 19-year-old followed up on a silver medal from his Olympic debut earlier in the week in the 5,000-meter event, making this his second medal of the Games.

After crossing the finish line, Jílek celebrated emotionally with Czech fans, even running barefoot across the ice at the oval. “There were so many Czech supporters, I didn’t expect that,” he said, visibly moved by the crowd’s support.

The victory gave Czechia its second gold medal at the Games, adding to snowboarder Zuzana Maderová’s win in the parallel giant slalom. Eva Adamczyková also claimed silver in the snowboard cross event, bringing Czechia’s total medal count to four and placing the country 11th in the overall medal standings.

Jílek completed the 10,000 meters in 12:33.43, beating Polish skater Vladimir Semirunny by 5.65 seconds, while Dutch veteran Jorrit Bergsma took bronze. Trained by New Zealand coach Kalon Dobbin, Jílek set a fast early pace and finished just 2.69 seconds short of the Olympic record set by Nils van der Poel in Beijing.

Three-time Olympic champion Martina Sáblíková praised Jílek as “almost unique” and said he had already taken over as Czechia’s top speed skater. President Petr Pavel and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš also congratulated him on social media, calling his performance phenomenal and a proud moment for the country.

Jílek is now aiming for a third medal in the mass-start race, where he has also performed strongly in the World Cup this season after transitioning from inline skating. He will next compete in the 1500m on February 19 and the mass start on February 21, with hopes of further strengthening Czechia’s medal tally.