SPEED SKATING
THE TOP STORY After Dutch dominance four years ago in Sochi – the Netherlands won 23 speed skating medals (and one short track) – it’s little wonder that Canada’s best chance at a medal rests on the ballooned thighs of transplanted Dutchman Ted-Jan Bloemen. The world record holder in the men’s 5,000m and 10,000m races, Bloemen is expected to fight stride for stride against reigning Olympic gold medalist Sven Kramer in both events.
On the women’s side, Ottawa’s Ivanie Blondin has as good a chance as any to reach the podium in the 5000m and the mass start. After making the switch from short track, Blondin has earned three World Championship medals in distance events, including a gold in the 5,000m on the very same surface she’ll be racing on come Feb. 11.
Venues All 14 speed skating events will be held at the Gangneung Oval. The eight short track events will be held at the Gangneung Ice Arena.
Dates Speed skating: Feb. 10 - Feb. 24. Short track: Feb. 10 and Feb. 22. Why watch speed skating Speed skating and short track represent the duality of sports better than any other event: on the longer track, you have the battle of athlete versus time, a conflict between the ability to endure and the skater’s own physical limits; on the short track, you get the drama of athleticism and technique that can all be unravelled with complete and utter randomness. What’s the difference between speed skating and
short track Think of speed skating as an event for the cultured gentry and short track as something roller derby aficionados might take up during the colder months. Speed skating is sipping a fine wine. Short-track is shotgunning a beer.
Essentially two time trials occurring simultaneously, speed skating is as much about mental fortitude as it is thighs pumping like pistons. The key for the speed skater is to transfer all of their available energy into the most powerful strides possible. Short track, meanwhile, is chaos on ice, with five skaters competing at once. Every race is different, and being aware of your surroundings is just as important as keeping your balance around the tight corners.
In more technical terms, short track races are skated in a pack around a track measuring 111.12 metres. Speed skating places two skaters in their own lanes and then times them around a 400 metre track.
Rules to remember There are no lanes in short track; in speed skating, skaters trade lanes every lap so they race an equal distance. In short track, no pushing, blocking, tripping and, most important of all, no raising a skate to reach a finish line first — this is taken very seriously given the injury risk from a skate blade in the air.
Who to watch Watching Sven Kramer race in the 5,000m, 10,000m and mass start competitions – in what will most likely be his last Olympics – is appointment viewing. With 30 World Cup victories, seven Olympic medals and nine World Allround Speed Skating Championships, Kramer is this generation’s finest speed skater by a measure that makes LeBron James seem like a slightly above average basketball player. Most astonishing comeback If the best Olympic stories are about the overcoming of great obstacles, it’s our duty as sports fans to cheer on Denny Morrison. The fourtime Olympic medalist from Fort St. John, B.C. broke his femur in a motorcycle accident in May of 2015, leaving him with a steel rod in his leg. A year later, Morrison suffered a stroke after mountain biking across Arizona. Only a year and a half after that, he managed to qualify for the 1,500m, becoming an inspiration to the entire Canadian speed skating team – and with a good showing in South Korea, maybe even an entire nation. Having their best decade ever The Dutch dominance at speed skating can’t be overstated. Of the 110 medals they’ve won at Winter Games, 105 have been from speed skating. The U.S. are the next closest nation, with 67 total medals won. Canada’s 35 medals is good enough for sixth all-time.
South Korea’s 42 medals in short track is more than any other country. Canada has won the third most short track medals with 28. Most anticipated comeback Charles Hamelin of Lévis, Que. will defend his Olympic gold in the 1,500m short track event. Prior to winning four years ago in Sochi, Hamelin considered the 1,500m one of his weaker events. Most colourful competitor Great Britain’s Elise Christie, a favourite for the podium in the women’s 1,000m short track, changes her hair colour before every big event.
Hometown dynasty South Korea has won 26 gold medals at the Winter Olympics; 21 of those golds have come at the short track rink. However, they’ve never won in the 500m (or even recorded a second-place finish). Choi Min-jeong will look to change all that as the favourite heading into the women’s 500m.
Double threats It’s fairly common for skaters to also be high-level cyclists. Both sports tend to require an absurd amount of leg strength. Who can forget Clara Hughes winning medals in cycling at the Summer Olympics and speed skating at the Winter Games? While not quite at the same level as Hughes, Ottawa’s Vincent De Haitre won the Canadian 1km time trial at the 2013 Canadian Track Championships. He could very well medal in that exact same distance – but this time on blades – in Pyeongchang.