Short-track speed skating facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Short-track speed skating

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

Preparation of the ice

Placement of rubber cones

Short-track speed skating is an exciting sport where athletes race against each other on a small ice track. It's a type of speed skating done on ice. Usually, four to six skaters race at the same time on an oval track that is about 111 meters (364 feet) long. The ice rink is 60 meters (197 feet) long and 30 meters (98 feet) wide. This is the same size as rinks used for figure skating and ice hockey. Other similar sports are long track speed skating and inline speed skating.

How Short-Track Speed Skating Started

Short-track speed skating grew from older speed skating races. In these races, many skaters would start at the same time. This style of speed skating was popular in the United States and Canada. In Europe, skaters usually raced in pairs.

At the 1932 Winter Olympics, speed skating events used the mass start style. Races in North America often took place indoors. For example, they were held in places like Madison Square Garden in New York. Because of this, the tracks were shorter than outdoor tracks.

Becoming an Official Sport

In 1967, the International Skating Union (ISU) officially recognized short-track speed skating. However, they didn't organize international competitions until 1976. The first official World Short Track Speed Skating Championships were held in 1981. Before that, events from 1976 to 1980 were later given World Championship status. The name of the competition changed a few times. In 1989, it became the "World Short Track Speed Skating Championships," which are now held every year.

Short-track speed skating was first shown at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada. It was a "demonstration sport," meaning it was there to be seen, but medals weren't officially given. It became a full Olympic sport in 1992 and has been part of the Winter Olympics ever since.

In the 1992 Winter Games, there were only four short-track events. By the 2002 Winter Games, the number of events grew to eight. These events are the same for both men and women: 500 meters, 1000 meters, 1500 meters, and a relay race. The men's relay is 5000 meters, and the women's is 3000 meters. A new 2000-meter mixed-team relay was added for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Important Rules for Skaters

Skaters must follow strict rules to compete fairly and safely. If a skater breaks one of these rules, they might be immediately disqualified from the race. This means their race time will not count.

Here are some common reasons for disqualification:

• Impeding: This means purposely pushing, blocking, or tripping another skater. It also includes causing any other problem for them.
• Off track: Skating outside the marked track area.
• Assistance: Giving physical help to another skater. For example, pushing a teammate to help them go faster. Or letting a teammate lean on you for balance in a turn.
• Shooting the line or Kicking out: This happens when a skater pushes their lead foot forward to cross the finish line faster. If their lead foot lifts off the ice, it can be dangerous for others.
• Unsportsmanlike conduct: Acting in a way that is not fair or respectful. This includes yelling at other skaters or officials, kicking your feet, or hitting others.
• Equipment: Not wearing the correct safety gear. Also, losing equipment during the race or having skin exposed (other than your face or neck).
• False Start: Leaving the starting line before the starter's pistol fires. If a skater does this a second time in the same race, they might be disqualified.
• Did not finish: This usually means the skater stopped racing because of an injury.
• Did not skate: The skater did not come to the starting line for the race.

Relay Race Rules

In relay races, each team has four skaters. They can take turns skating freely by tagging each other. A skater can be replaced by a teammate at any time, except during the last two laps of the race. Often, the skater leaving the race will push their incoming teammate. This helps the new skater gain speed quickly.

Short-track at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics, Innsbruck

World Records in Short-Track Speed Skating

These tables show the fastest times ever recorded in short-track speed skating for different distances.

Men's Records

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's Records

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 Team Records

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

Famous Short-Track Skaters

This section lists some of the most successful short-track speed skaters. These athletes have won at least three individual gold medals at the Olympic Winter Games or have been overall World Champions three times.

Men Skaters

Athlete	Nation	Born	Olympics	World Championships (overall)	Olympics + World Championships (overall)	World Championships (distances, relay, team)	Total
						Total				Total				Total				Total				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 Skaters

Athlete	Nation	Born	Olympics	World Championships (overall)	Olympics + World Championships (overall)	World Championships (distances, relay, team)	Total
						Total				Total				Total				Total				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

In Spanish: Patinaje de velocidad sobre pista corta para niños

• Short-track speed skating at the Winter Olympics