Short-track speed skating at the Winter Olympics facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Short-track speed skating at the Winter Olympics |
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| Governing body | ISU |
| Events | 9 (men: 4; women: 4; mixed: 1) |
| Games | |
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Short-track speed skating is an exciting sport where skaters race on a small ice track. It has been a part of the Winter Olympics since the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France. Before that, it was shown as a demonstration sport at the 1988 games. Results from the 1988 event are not counted in the official Olympic records.
Teams from East Asia and North America have been very strong in this sport. Countries like South Korea, China, Canada, and the United States have won most of the medals. Since 1992, these four countries have won 147 out of 195 medals. South Korea leads with 53 medals, including 26 gold medals. For both South Korea and China, short-track speed skating brings them most of their Winter Olympic medals.
At the 2010 Winter Olympics, Haralds Silovs from Latvia made history. He was the first athlete ever to compete in both short track (1500m) and long track (5000m) speed skating. He even competed in both on the same day!
After winning the 500m race at the 2014 Winter Olympics, Viktor Ahn became a short track legend. He was the first short track speed skater to win gold medals in all four main events. These events are the 500m, 1000m, 1500m, and the 5000m relay. Viktor Ahn won three gold medals in 2014 for Russia. He had also won three gold medals in 2006 for South Korea.
In July 2018, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) added a new event. This was the mixed relay race, which is 2000 meters long. This addition increased the total number of short track events to nine. Because of this new event, the competition now lasts for six days instead of five.
Medal Winners
This table shows which countries have won the most medals in short track speed skating at the Olympics. The information is correct up to the 2022 Winter Olympics.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  South Korea (KOR) |
26 | 16 | 11 | 53 |
| 2 |  China (CHN) |
12 | 16 | 9 | 37 |
| 3 |  Canada (CAN) |
10 | 13 | 14 | 37 |
| 4 |  United States (USA) |
4 | 7 | 9 | 20 |
| 5 |  Italy (ITA) |
3 | 6 | 6 | 15 |
| 6 |  Netherlands (NED) |
3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 7 |  Russia (RUS) |
3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 8 |  Hungary (HUN) |
2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 9 |  Japan (JPN) |
1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 10 |  Australia (AUS) |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 11 |  Bulgaria (BUL) |
0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 12 |  Republic of China (ROC) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 13 |  Belgium (BEL) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Great Britain (GBR) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 North Korea (PRK) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Unified Team (EUN) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (17 entries) | 65 | 65 | 65 | 195 | |
See also
In Spanish: Patinaje de velocidad en pista corta en los Juegos Olímpicos para niños
- List of Olympic venues in short track speed skating
