short-Track Speed Skating at the Winter Olympics
Short-track speed skating at the Olympics is an exciting, rough-and-tumble sport with heart-stopping moments. It originally began when long-track speed skaters wanted a way to practice inside, and found that the tighter turns and shorter straightaways of a smaller track required a whole different set of techniques. Short-track speed skating became a full medal event at the 1992 Olympic Winter Games in Albertville, France.
How Short-Track Speed Skating at the Olympics Works
Short-track speed skating at the Olympics is held on a 112.2 m oval track inside an international-size hockey rink. The rink is lined with a boardless padding system for the athletes' safety. There are no lanes, but the turns are marked with cones. The athletes compete against each other, not against the clock.
The competition works by elimination. The individual events begin with 32 athletes, skating four to six at a time depending on the event. The first two in each heat (the first three in the 1500 m heats) advance to the next round.
There are eight short-track speed skating events at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, four each for the men and ladies. The men's events are 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m, and 5000 m relay; the ladies' events are 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m, and 3000 m relay.
- 500 m event - There are four skaters in each heat. This event is basically a sprint. The start is extremely important as it is difficult to pass at a high speed. The race is four and a half laps.
- 1000 m event - There are four skaters in each heat. The 1000 m is a more tactical race because of its length. The heats start slowly as the skaters maneuver for position until they reach top speed for the last three laps of the nine-lap race.
- 1500 m event - There are six skaters in each heat. Not only does the longer distance and greater number of skaters in each heat demand more strategy, the competition also requires more stamina since all heats, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final take place on a single day.
- men's 5000 m and ladies' 3000 m relays - The short-track speed skating relays take place over two days. Eight teams from eight different countries take part. Each team skates two races, a semi-final and a final. Each team has four skaters. At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the composition of the starting teams will be determined by World Cup rankings from the 2009-10 season. Each skater takes multiple turns on the ice, and the number of laps each skates is up to the team. The last two laps must be done by a single skater. Changes in skaters are made by touching anywhere on the body. This often means the next skater will crouch to receive a push from behind. The high speeds, constant changeovers, passing, bumps, crashes and falls make the relay a dizzying event.
Short-Track Speed Skating Venue at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics
All short-track speed skating events at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics are held at the Pacific Coliseum at Hastings Park in Vancouver. The facility seats about 14,000.
Short-Track Speed Skating Schedule at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics
The short-track speed skating events begin on Saturday February 13 and go through to Friday February 26. For detailed Vancouver Olympics short-track speed skating schedules see:
