Template:Short description Template:Infobox sport

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 Template:Convert. The rink itself is Template:Convert long by Template:Convert 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.

HistoryEdit

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.

RulesEdit

Skaters who commit one of the following offenses risk immediate disqualification from a race and having their times rendered invalid and being suspended from playing for a short time.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Impeding: Intentionally pushing, blocking, tripping or otherwise causing an impediment for another skater
  • Off track: Skating outside or inside 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. The updated 2023 ISU regulations state that after the first false start, the offender would have to leave.
  • Did not finish: Usually due to a fall, the skater did not finish the race.
  • Did not skate: The skater did not go to the starting line.
  • Finish not timed: The skater's finishing time was not recorded, usually when a skater takes too long to finish the race.


In relay races, each team has four skaters, who can take turns freely by tagging or pushing. 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. If a team member falls, the next person needs to be tagged. A relay team would be penalized if they committed the following:

  • Not abiding by previous rules that applied to individual skaters
  • Not receiving a tag from a teammate
  • Exchanging after the center red line when there are three laps to go

World recordsEdit

MenEdit

Distance Athlete Nation City Date Record time citation CitationClass=web

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500 m Wu Dajing Template:CHN Salt Lake City, United States 11 November 2018 39.505 citation CitationClass=web

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1000 m Hwang Dae-heon Template:KOR Salt Lake City, United States 12 November 2016 1:20.875 citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

1500 m Sjinkie Knegt Template:NED Salt Lake City, United States 13 November 2016 2:07.943 citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

3000 m Noh Jin-kyu Template:KOR Warsaw, Poland 19 March 2011 4:31.891 citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

5000 m
relay
Csaba Burján
Cole Krueger
Shaoang Liu
Shaolin Sándor Liu
{{#invoke:flag }} Calgary, Canada 4 November 2018 6:28.625 citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

WomenEdit

Distance Athlete Nation City Date Record time Ref
500 m Xandra Velzeboer Template:NED Salt Lake City, United States 4 November 2022 41.416 citation CitationClass=web

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CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

1000 m Suzanne Schulting Template:NED Salt Lake City, United States 4 November 2022 1:25.958 citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

1500 m Choi Min-jeong Template:KOR Salt Lake City, United States 12 November 2016 2:14.354 citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

3000 m Jung Eun-ju Template:KOR Harbin, China 15 March 2008 4:46.983 citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

3000 m
relay
Selma Poutsma
Suzanne Schulting
Yara van Kerkhof
Xandra Velzeboer
Template:NED Beijing, China 23 October 2021 4:02.809 citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

MixedEdit

Distance Athlete Nation City Date Record time Ref
2000 m
relay
Teun Boer
Jens van `t Wout
Xandra Velzeboer
Michelle Velzeboer
Template:NED Beijing, China 14 March 2025 2:35.339 citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>


Notable skatersEdit

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.

MenEdit

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

WomenEdit

Athlete Nation Born Olympics World Championships (overall) Olympics +
World Championships (overall)
World Championships
(distances, relay, team)
Total
File:Gold medal olympic.svg File:Silver medal olympic.svg File:Bronze medal olympic.svg Total File:Gold medal world centered-2.svg File:Silver medal world centered-2.svg File:Bronze medal world centered-2.svg Total File:Gouden medaille.svg File:Zilveren medaille.svg File:Bronzen medaille.svg Total File:Gold medal world centered-2.svg File:Silver medal world centered-2.svg File:Bronze medal world centered-2.svg Total File:Gouden medaille.svg File:Zilveren medaille.svg File:Bronzen medaille.svg Total
Yang Yang (A) Template:CHN 1976 2 2 1 5 6 1 0 7 8 3 1 12 26 12 5 43 34 15 6 55
Wang Meng Template:CHN 1985 4 1 1 6 3 3 0 6 7 4 1 12 18 11 3 32 25 15 4 44
Chun Lee-kyung Template:KOR 1976 4 0 1 5 3 2 0 5 7 2 1 10 10 11 3 24 17 13 4 34
Choi Min-jeong Template:KOR 1998 3 2 0 5 4 1 0 5 7 3 0 10 19 3 1 23 26 6 1 33
Sylvie Daigle Template:CAN 1962 1 1 0 2 5 2 1 8 6 3 1 10 22+ 8+ ? 31+ 28+ 11+ 1+ 40+
Jin Sun-yu Template:KOR 1988 3 0 0 3 3 0 0 3 6 0 0 6 10 3 1 14 16 3 1 20
Suzanne Schulting Template:NED 1997 3 1 2 6 2 0 0 2 5 1 2 8 5 1 2 8 10 2 3 15
Nathalie Lambert Template:CAN 1962 1 2 0 3 3 2 2 7 4 4 2 10 14+ 3+ 2+ 19+ 18+ 7+ 4+ 29+
Choi Eun-kyung Template:KOR 1984 2 2 0 4 2 1 0 3 4 3 0 7 12 3 3 18 16 6 3 25
Shim Suk-Hee Template:KOR 1997 2 1 1 4 1 1 3 5 3 2 4 9 11 4 1 16 14 6 5 25
Park Seung-hi Template:KOR 1992 2 0 3 5 1 2 0 3 3 2 3 8 8 4 1 13 11 6 4 21
Zhou Yang Template:CHN 1991 3 0 0 3 0 1 1 2 3 1 1 5 5 4 4 13 8 5 5 18
Arianna Fontana {{#invoke:flag Italy}} 1990 2 4 5 11 0 1 3 4 2 5 8 15 1 5 7 13 3 12 21 36

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

External linksEdit

Template:Sister project

Template:Winter Olympic sports Template:Ice