Cepuran, United States men’s team pursuit, take the silver medal in Milan
It wasn’t the finish the American speed skaters had sought, yet it still equaled the United States’ best result in Olympic men’s team pursuit.
Skating as a unit Tuesday at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, Ethan Cepuran of Glen Ellyn, Emery Lehman of Oak Park, and Casey Dawson of Park City, Utah, earned the silver medal, trailing Italy for the gold in the finals at the Milan Speed Skating Stadium.
Trailing through five laps in the head-to-head final, Italy’s trio of Davide Ghiotto, Michele Malfatti and Andrea Giovannini closed the 8-lap, 3,200-meter contest progressively faster.
The Italians’ time of 3 minutes, 39.20 seconds was 4.51 seconds faster than Team USA’s time of 3:43.71.
Skating in its final against the Netherlands, China won the bronze medal, its first medal in an event that debuted at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.
Defending Olympic champion Norway finished in sixth place. The United States had earned the bronze medal at the 2022 Beijing Games, its second podium finish in the event following a silver at Vancouver in 2010.
Cepuran, Lehman and Dawson won their semifinal Tuesday against China in 3:44.29. The Americans’ sequence of four straight sub-13-second 200-meter split times convinced the Chinese men to save their legs for the bronze medal round. They coasted in at 3:52.22.
The United States women’s team pursuit squad of Brittany Bowe, Mia Manganello, and Greta Myers was left off the medal stand, losing in its bronze medal skate to Japan. Canada beat the Netherlands to win gold.
The Team USA men, led by Dawson in skating formation with Lehman in the middle and 2018 Glenbard West High School graduate Cepuran in the rear, had gone undefeated over the World Cup season, and set a world record of 3:32.49 Nov. 16 in Salt Lake City. The trio won at the 2025 International Skating Union World Championships in Norway.
Leading Italy in the final by .02 seconds in the opening 200 meters and by .14 seconds after two laps, the U.S. stretched its lead to .68 seconds on the backstretch approaching the fourth lap.
Italy made ground, and with 800 meters and two laps left had taken the lead. While Italy’s 200-meter split times never varied from 13.33 to 13.66 over the second half of the race, U.S. times increased progressively at each stage after it completed three laps in 1:23.81.
Part of the U.S. team pursuit squad that earned bronze in Beijing, entering the Milan Cortina Games Cepuran had said, “this time around we want a little bit more.”
Though not the ultimate goal, it was a mission accomplished.