At the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, Italy's men's speedskating team — Davide Ghiotto, Andrea Giovannini and Michele Malfatti — won the gold medal in the team pursuit event, finishing in 3:39.20, beating Team USA (Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman, Ethan Cepuran) by 4.51 seconds. The U.S. team had set a world record of 3:32.49 in November and entered as defending world champions and favorites. The Americans led through the early laps, but Italy surged in the closing stages. It was Italy's first Olympic gold in the event since the 2006 Turin Games.
After crossing the finish line, Giovannini performed Steph Curry's signature 'night-night' celebration — pressing his hands to the side of his tilted head. He explained he drew inspiration from Curry's composure under pressure during the 2024 Paris Olympics basketball final, and had pre-planned the gesture, telling his Olympic roommate Francesco Betti about it days before the race. Teammate Ghiotto did not see it and was unfamiliar with Curry.
The American skaters did not witness the celebration. When told about it, Lehman laughed and said it was 'better than getting two middle fingers from the Russians four years ago,' referencing a 2022 incident in which Russian skater Daniil Aldoshkin made the gesture after beating the U.S. in the Beijing semifinals. Aldoshkin later apologized. Dawson also responded graciously, saying 'they put in the work, good for them.' In the women's team pursuit, the U.S. finished fourth, missing the podium.
