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Short-track speed skating facts for kids

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Short-track speed skating
Korea ShortTrack Ladies 3000m Gold Sochi 04.png
3000 meters short-track relay during the 2014 Winter Olympics
Highest governing body International Skating Union
Characteristics
Mixed-sex Yes
Type Separate competitions for male and female
Equipment ice skates, helmet, gloves, suit, shin guards, neck guard, safety glasses
Presence
Olympic 1988 (demonstration)
1992–present
2020-01-22 Short track speed skating at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics – Mixed NOC Team Relay (Martin Rulsch) 11
Preparation of the ice
2020-01-22 Short track speed skating at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics – Mixed NOC Team Relay (Martin Rulsch) 04
Placement of rubber cones

Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of 111.111 metres (364.54 ft). The rink itself is 60 metres (196.85 ft) long by 30 metres (98.43 ft) wide, which is the same size as an Olympic-sized figure skating rink and an international-sized ice hockey rink. Related sports include long track speed skating and inline speed skating.

History

Short-track skating developed from speed skating events that were held with mass starts. This form of speed skating was mainly practised in the United States and Canada, as opposed to the international form (derived from Europe), where athletes skated in pairs. At the 1932 Winter Olympics, speed skating events were conducted in the mass start form. Competitions in North America tended to be held indoors, for example in Madison Square Garden, New York, and therefore on shorter tracks than was usual for outdoor skating.

In 1967, the International Skating Union (ISU) adopted short-track speed skating, although it did not organize international competitions until 1976. World Championships in short-track speed skating have been officially held since 1981, although events held in 1976–1980 under different names have since received the status of World Championships retrospectively. The name of the competition was changed several times before it was eventually titled the "World Short Track Speed Skating Championships" in 1989; the championships are now held annually.

Short-track speed skating was introduced as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada. It was upgraded to a full Olympic sport in 1992 and has been part of the Winter Olympics ever since. There were only four short-track events in the 1992 Winter Games, but the program was expanded to include six events in 1994 and 1998, and finally eight events in the 2002 Winter Games. The events are the same for both men and women: 500 meters, 1000 meters, 1500 meters, plus the relay event (5000 meters for men, 3000 meters for women). Since the 2018–19 World Cup season, a 2000-meter mixed-team relay was added, and debuted in the 2022 Winter Olympics. A 3,000-meter super-final event is included in the European Championships, but this is not currently part of the Olympic short-track program.

Rules

Skaters who commit one of the following offences risk immediate disqualification from a race and having their times rendered invalid.

  • Impeding: Intentionally pushing, blocking, tripping or otherwise causing an impediment for another skater
  • Off track: Skating outside the designated track
  • Assistance: Giving physical assistance to another skater. For example: pushing a teammate from behind for an extra boost, or allowing a teammate to lean on another for stability in corners
  • Shooting the line or Kicking out: Driving the foot in lead ahead to reach the finish faster, resulting in the lead foot lifting off the ice and creating a dangerous situation for others
  • Unsportsmanlike conduct: Acting in a manner not befitting an athlete or a role model. Including cursing at a competitor, kicking your feet, striking other skaters or officials, etc.
  • Equipment: Not wearing the proper safety equipment, losing equipment during the race, or exposure of skin not on face or neck.
  • False Start: Leaving before firing of the starter's pistol. On the second violation in the race, the offender on that start risks disqualification & must leave.
  • Did not finish: Usually due to injury, the skater did not finish the race.
  • Did not skate: The skater did not go to the starting line.

In relay races, each team has four skaters, who can take turns freely by tagging. A skater may be relayed at any time except during the last two laps. Usually, the outgoing skater pushes the incoming skater to help the teammate to gain speed.

World records

Men

Distance Athlete Nation City Date Record time Ref
500 m Wu Dajing  China Salt Lake City, United States 11 November 2018 39.505
1000 m Hwang Dae-heon  South Korea Salt Lake City, United States 12 November 2016 1:20.875
1500 m Sjinkie Knegt  Netherlands Salt Lake City, United States 13 November 2016 2:07.943
3000 m Noh Jin-kyu  South Korea Warsaw, Poland 19 March 2011 4:31.891
5000 m
relay
Csaba Burján
Cole Krueger
Shaoang Liu
Shaolin Sándor Liu
 Hungary Calgary, Canada 4 November 2018 6:28.625

Women

Distance Athlete Nation City Date Record time Ref
500 m Xandra Velzeboer  Netherlands Salt Lake City, United States 4 November 2022 41.416
1000 m Suzanne Schulting  Netherlands Salt Lake City, United States 4 November 2022 1:25.958
1500 m Choi Min-jeong  South Korea Salt Lake City, United States 12 November 2016 2:14.354
3000 m Jung Eun-ju  South Korea Harbin, China 15 March 2008 4:46.983
3000 m
relay
Selma Poutsma
Suzanne Schulting
Yara van Kerkhof
Xandra Velzeboer
 Netherlands Beijing, China 23 October 2021 4:02.809

Mixed

Distance Athlete Nation City Date Record time Ref
2000 m
relay
Kim A-lang
Kim Dong-wook
Kim Ji-yoo
Kwak Yoon-gy
 South Korea Beijing, China 24 October 2021 2:35.951

Notable skaters

The following is the list of athletes who are Individual gold medalist at the Olympic Winter Games or Overall World Champion and have won Olympic Winter Games or Overall World Championships at least three times.

Men

Athlete Nation Born Olympics World Championships (overall) Olympics +
World Championships (overall)
World Championships
(distances, relay, team)
Total
Gold medal olympic.svg Silver medal olympic.svg Bronze medal olympic.svg Total Gold medal world centered-2.svg Silver medal world centered-2.svg Bronze medal world centered-2.svg Total Gouden medaille.svg Zilveren medaille.svg Bronzen medaille.svg Total Gold medal world centered-2.svg Silver medal world centered-2.svg Bronze medal world centered-2.svg Total Gouden medaille.svg Zilveren medaille.svg Bronzen medaille.svg Total
Ahn Hyun-Soo
(Viktor Ahn)
 South Korea
 Russia
1985 6 0 2 8 6 1 0 7 12 1 2 15 22 13 6 41 34 13 9 56
Marc Gagnon  Canada 1975 3 0 2 5 4 2 1 7 7 2 3 12 15 9 4 28 22 11 7 40
Charles Hamelin  Canada 1984 4 1 0 5 1 3 3 7 5 4 3 12 12 15 10 37 16 19 13 48
Kim Ki-hoon  South Korea 1967 3 0 0 3 1 2 1 4 4 2 1 7 2+ 1+ 2+ 5+ 6+ 3+ 3+ 12+
Apolo Anton Ohno  United States 1982 2 2 4 8 1 2 1 4 3 4 5 12 8 5 6 19 11 9 11 31
Lee Ho-Suk  South Korea 1986 1 4 0 5 2 2 0 4 3 6 0 9 8 5 4 17 11 11 4 26
Kim Dong-Sung  South Korea 1980 1 1 0 2 2 0 1 3 3 1 1 5 10 7 3 20 13 8 4 25
Shaoang Liu  Hungary 1998 2 0 2 4 1 0 0 1 3 0 2 5 1 5 2 8 4 5 4 13

Women

Athlete Nation Born Olympics World Championships (overall) Olympics +
World Championships (overall)
World Championships
(distances, relay, team)
Total
Gold medal olympic.svg Silver medal olympic.svg Bronze medal olympic.svg Total Gold medal world centered-2.svg Silver medal world centered-2.svg Bronze medal world centered-2.svg Total Gouden medaille.svg Zilveren medaille.svg Bronzen medaille.svg Total Gold medal world centered-2.svg Silver medal world centered-2.svg Bronze medal world centered-2.svg Total Gouden medaille.svg Zilveren medaille.svg Bronzen medaille.svg Total
Yang Yang (A)  China 1976 2 2 1 5 6 1 0 7 8 3 1 12 26 12 5 43 34 15 6 55
Wang Meng  China 1985 4 1 1 6 3 3 0 6 7 4 1 12 18 11 3 32 25 15 4 44
Chun Lee-kyung  South Korea 1976 4 0 1 5 3 2 0 5 7 2 1 10 10 11 3 24 17 13 4 34
Choi Min-jeong  South Korea 1998 3 2 0 5 4 1 0 5 7 3 0 10 19 3 1 23 26 6 1 33
Sylvie Daigle  Canada 1962 1 1 0 2 5 2 1 8 6 3 1 10 22+ 8+ ? 31+ 28+ 11+ 1+ 40+
Jin Sun-yu  South Korea 1988 3 0 0 3 3 0 0 3 6 0 0 6 10 3 1 14 16 3 1 20
Suzanne Schulting  Netherlands 1997 3 1 2 6 2 0 0 2 5 1 2 8 5 1 2 8 10 2 3 15
Nathalie Lambert  Canada 1962 1 2 0 3 3 2 2 7 4 4 2 10 14+ 3+ 2+ 19+ 18+ 7+ 4+ 29+
Choi Eun-kyung  South Korea 1984 2 2 0 4 2 1 0 3 4 3 0 7 12 3 3 18 16 6 3 25
Shim Suk-Hee  South Korea 1997 2 1 1 4 1 1 3 5 3 2 4 9 11 4 1 16 14 6 5 25
Park Seung-hi  South Korea 1992 2 0 3 5 1 2 0 3 3 2 3 8 8 4 1 13 11 6 4 21
Zhou Yang  China 1991 3 0 0 3 0 1 1 2 3 1 1 5 5 4 4 13 8 5 5 18

See also

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