short-track speed skatingArticle Free Pass
short-track speed skating, sport that tests the speed, technical skating ability, and aggressiveness of its competitors. Unlike traditional long-track speed skating, contestants race against each other instead of the clock.
Short-track speed skating is rooted in the pack-style racing that was popular in North America during the first part of the 20th century. Amid considerable controversy, this rougher style of speed skating was practiced during the 1932 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, N.Y., U.S. The short-track sport came to prominence in the 1960s and ’70s. The International Skating Union held annual short-track championships from 1978 to 1980, and the first official world championship took place in 1981. Short-track speed skating made its Olympic debut at the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France.
Racing in groups of four to eight contestants, skaters compete on an indoor track the size of a hockey rink with a lap length of 111 metres (364 feet). The top two finishers from each heat advance to the next round. Passing strategies and pacing are important components of the sport. Contact often occurs as skaters jockey for position. Because of the sharp turns at high speeds, a special speed skate, one with a taller blade and higher boot, is used to provide extra support for the skater. Falls are common in short-track racing, and skaters wear protective pads on their elbows and knees, as well as helmets and gloves. The walls of the track are also padded. Individual short-track races are held over 500 metres, 1,000 metres, 1,500 metres, and 3,000 metres for both men and women. Four-person relays cover distances of 3,000 metres (women) and 5,000 metres (men).
Winners of the World Short-Track Speed-Skating Overall Championship are listed in the table.
|1978||J. Lynch (Austl.)||S. Docter (Can.)|
|1979||H. Toda (Japan)||S. Daigle (Can.)|
|1980||G. Boucher (Can.)||M. Kato (Japan)|
|1981||B. Baril (Can.)||M. Kato (Japan)|
|1982||G. Daigneault (Can.)||M. Perreault (Can.)|
|1983||L. Grenier (Can.)||S. Daigle (Can.)|
|1984||G. Daigneault (Can.)||M. Kinoshita (Japan)|
|1985||T. Kawai (Japan)||E. Shishii (Japan)|
|1986||T. Isihara (Japan)||B. Blair (U.S.)|
|1987||M. Daignault (Can.)*
T. Kawai (Japan)*
|E. Shishii (Japan)|
|1988||P. van der Velde (Neth.)||S. Daigle (Can.)|
|1989||M. Daignault (Can.)||S. Daigle (Can.)|
|1990||Lee Joon-Ho (S.Kor.)||S. Daigle (Can.)|
|1991||W. O'Reilly (U.K.)||N. Lambert (Can.)|
|1992||Ki Hoon-Kim (S.Kor.)||So He-Kim (S.Kor.)|
|1993||M. Gagnon (Can.)||N. Lambert (Can.)|
|1994||M. Gagnon (Can.)||N. Lambert (Can.)|
|1995||Chae Ji-Hoon (S.Kor.)||Chun Lee-Kyung (S.Kor.)|
|1996||M. Gagnon (Can.)||Chun Lee-Kyung (S.Kor.)|
|1997||Kim Dong-Sung (S.Kor.)||Chun Lee-Kyung (S.Kor.)*
Yang Yang (A) (China)*
|1998||M. Gagnon (Can.)||Yang Yang (A) (China)|
|1999||Li Jianjun (China)||Yang Yang (A) (China)|
|2000||Min Ryung (S.Kor.)||Yang Yang (A) (China)|
|2001||Li Jianjun (China)||Yang Yang (A) (China)|
|2002||Kim Dong-Sung (S.Kor.)||Yang Yang (A) (China)|
|2003||Ahn Hyun-Soo (S.Kor.)||Choi Eun-Kyung (S.Kor.)|
|2004||Ahn Hyun-Soo (S.Kor.)||Choi Eun-Kyung (S.Kor.)|
|2005||Ahn Hyun-Soo (S.Kor.)||Jin Sun-Yu (S.Kor.)|
|2006||Ahn Hyun-Soo (S.Kor.)||Jin Sun-Yu (S.Kor.)|
|2007||Ahn Hyun-Soo (S.Kor.)||Jin Sun-Yu (S.Kor.)|
|2008||A. Ohno (U.S.)||Wang Meng (China)|
|2009||Lee Ho-Suk (S.Kor.)||Wang Meng (China)|
|2010||Lee Ho-Suk (S.Kor.)||Park Seung-Hi (S.Kor.)|
|2011||Noh Jin-Kyu (S.Kor.)||Cho Ha-Ri (S.Kor.)|
|2012||Kwak Yoon-Gy (S.Kor.)||Li Jianrou (China)|
|2013||Sin Da-Woon (S.Kor.)||Wang Meng (China)|
|2014||V. Ahn (Russia)||Shim Suk-Hee (S.Kor.)|
Ready, Set, Know!
Official Languages: Fact or Fiction?
Foods Around the World: Fact or Fiction?
Greek and Roman Literature: Fact or Fiction?
Pop Culture: Fact or Fiction?
Parlez-Vous Français? And Other Languages
A Study of William Shakespeare
Word Nerd Quiz
A-List of Actors
Ultimate Foodie Quiz
Sports: Fact or Fiction?
Composers & Their Music
Ultimate Art Quiz
Turn Up the Heat
Languages & Alphabets
The Literary World (Characters Quiz)
13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird
7 One-Hit Wonders That Kept Us Wondering
All the World's a Stage: 6 Places in Shakespeare, Then and Now
10 Chicago Writers
10 Failed Doomsday Predictions
9 Diagnoses by Charles Dickens
6 Fictional Languages You Can Really Learn
9 Varieties of Doomsday Imagined By Hollywood
9 Love Stories with Tragic Endings
8 Hollywood Haunts That Are Seriously Haunted
8 Influential Abolitionist Texts
8 Creepy Critters in the Work of Edgar Allan Poe
10 Filmmakers of Cult Status
Food for Thought: The Origins of 6 Favorite Foods
10 Musical Acts That Scored 10 #1 Hits
11 Entertainment Power Couples
10 Modernist Art Movements
Imma Let You Finish: 10 Classic Moments in MTV History
Do you know anything more about this topic that you’d like to share?