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SHORT
TRACK SPEED SKATINGClose Quarters - washingtonpost.com graphic
The
image that’s sure to persist is of Australia’s Steven Bradbury
crossing the finish line alone in the 1000 meters, his way paved by a
four-man wipeout that left bodies sprawled along the track boundary.
Bradbury’s last-to-first dash struck a dizzy theme that included a
gold medal via disqualification for Apolo Anton Ohno of the United
States in the 1500. Yang Yang (A) of China won her country’s first
Olympic Winter Games gold medals in the 1000 and 500.
MULTIPLE MEDAL WINNERS
-
Evgenia Radanova (BUL) — silver 500; bronze 1500
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Choi Eun-Kyung (KOR) — silver 1500; gold relay
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Yang Yang (A) (CHN) — gold 500; silver relay; gold 1000
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Yang Yang (S) (CHN) — silver relay; bronze 1000
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Ko Gi-Hyun (KOR) — gold 1500; silver 1000
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Apolo Anton Ohno (USA) — silver 1000; gold 1500
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Marc Gagnon (CAN) — bronze 1500; gold 500; gold relay
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Mathieu Turcotte (CAN) — bronze 1000; gold relay
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Jonathan Guilmette (CAN) — silver 500; gold relay
-
Li Jiajun (CHN) — silver 1500; silver relay
MEN
500m |
|
Marc Gagnon (CAN) |
(OR) 41.802 |
|
|
Jonathan Guilmette (CAN) |
41.994 |
|
|
|
Rusty Smith (USA) |
42.027 |
|
1000m |
|
Steven Bradbury (AUS) |
1:29.109 |
|
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Apolo Anton Ohno (USA) |
1:30.160 |
|
|
|
Mathieu Turcotte (CAN) |
1:30.563 |
|
1500m
NEW |
|
Apolo Anton Ohno (USA) |
2:18.541 |
|
|
Jiajun Li (CHN) |
2:18.731 |
|
|
|
Marc Gagnon (CAN) |
2:18.806 |
|
5000m
RELAY |
|
CANADA |
6:51.579 |
|
|
ITALY |
6:56.327 |
|
|
|
CHINA |
6:59.633 |
WOMEN
500m |
|
Yang Yang (A) (CHN) |
44.187 |
|
|
Evgenia Radanova (HUN) |
44.252 |
|
|
|
Chunlu Wang (CHN) |
44.272 |
|
1000m |
|
Yang Yang (A) (CHN) |
1:36.391 |
|
|
Gi-Hyun Ko (KOR) |
1:36.427 |
|
|
|
Yang Yang (S) (CHN) |
1:37.008 |
|
1500m
NEW |
|
Gi-Hyun Ko (KOR) |
2:31.581 |
|
|
Eun-Kyung Choi (KOR) |
2:31.610 |
|
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Evgenia Radanova (HUN) |
2:31.723 |
|
3000m
RELAY |
|
SOUTH KOREA |
WR 4:12.793 |
|
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CHINA |
4:13.236 |
|
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CANADA |
4:15.738 |
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MEDAL TALLY |
||||
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|
|
|
Total |
China |
2 |
2 |
3 |
7 |
South Korea |
2 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
Canada |
2 |
1 |
3 |
6 |
United States |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
Australia |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Hungary |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
Italy |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
Total |
8 |
8 |
8 |
24 |
VENUE & EVENTS
Salt Lake Ice Center
301 West South Temple, Salt Lake City
The Salt Lake Ice Center in downtown Salt Lake City will host the figure skating and short track events at the 2002 Olympics. The venue, which was built in 1991, features a six-story indoor facility for sports and entertainment and is home to the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association. The Salt Lake Ice Center can accommodate more than 15,000 spectators for figure skating. The base elevation of the Salt Lake Ice Center is 1,305 meters (4,281 feet).
Short track is a discipline of speedskating and is contested in indoor rinks on a 111-meter track, about the size of an international hockey rink. A pack of four to six skaters race against each other, rather than the clock, making for fast and thrilling races. Winners are determined by order of finish. Falls are not uncommon, but there are strict guidelines on passing an opponent, and pushing and shoving is not allowed. Much like basketball, though, there is battling for position. A competitor can fall without penalty, but it is typically not possible to come back and win after a fall. Because of the small track and sharp turns, the walls of the rink are padded to minimize injuries.
Each nation is permitted six speedskaters, depending on how the individual team did at a qualifying event. If the team had two skaters finish in the top 20, then the individual team could place four skaters in the Olympics, three of which could participate in any individual event.
Short-track speedskating in the Olympics has preliminary rounds, semifinals and finals, where skaters are grouped into groups of four or six. The top two in each round advance to the next level.
One of the most exciting events is the relay. Each team is made up of four members. The same skater must skate the final two laps, but otherwise team members can trade off at any time in any order. Changeovers can occur anywhere on the course by touch or push. Usually the successor starts picking up speed in the inner zone, then moves onto the track at the right moment to get a push from behind.
