 3000 meters short-track relay during the2014 Winter Olympics | |
| Highestgoverning body | International Skating Union |
|---|---|
| Characteristics | |
| Mixed-sex | Yes |
| Type | Separate competitions for male and female |
| Equipment | ice skates, helmet, gloves, suit, shin guards, neck guard, safety glasses |
| Presence | |
| Olympic | 1988 (demonstration) 1992–present |
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Short-track speed skating is a form of competitiveicespeed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of 111.111 metres (364.54 ft). The rink itself is 60 metres (196.85 ft) long by 30 metres (98.43 ft) wide, which is the same size as an Olympic-sizedfigure skating rink and an international-sizedice hockey rink. Related sports includelong-track speed skating andinline speed skating.
Short-track skating developed from speed skating events that were held with mass starts. This form of speed skating was mainly practised in theUnited States andCanada, as opposed to the international form (derived fromEurope), where athletes skated in pairs. At the1932 Winter Olympics, speed skating events were conducted in the mass start form. Competitions in North America tended to be held indoors, for example inMadison Square Garden, New York, and therefore on shorter tracks than was usual for outdoor skating.
In 1967, theInternational 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 the1988 Winter Olympics inCalgary, 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 the1992 Winter Games, but the program was expanded to include six events in1994 and1998, and finally eight events in the2002 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 the2022 Winter Olympics. A 3,000-meter super-final event is included in theEuropean Championships, but this is not currently part of the Olympic short-track program.
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.[1]
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:
| Distance | Athlete | Nation | City | Date | Record time | Ref[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 m | Wu Dajing |  China | Salt Lake City, United States | 11 November 2018 | 39.505 | [3] |
| 1000 m | Hwang Dae-heon |  South Korea | Salt Lake City, United States | 12 November 2016 | 1:20.875 | [4] |
| 1500 m | Sjinkie Knegt |  Netherlands | Salt Lake City, United States | 13 November 2016 | 2:07.943 | [5] |
| 3000 m | Noh Jin-kyu | South Korea | Warsaw, Poland | 19 March 2011 | 4:31.891 | [6] |
| 5000 m relay | Csaba Burján Cole Krueger Shaoang Liu Shaolin Sándor Liu |  Hungary | Calgary, Canada | 4 November 2018 | 6:28.625 | [7] |
| Distance | Athlete | Nation | City | Date | Record time | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 m | Xandra Velzeboer | Netherlands | Salt Lake City, United States | 4 November 2022 | 41.416 | [8][9] |
| 1000 m | Suzanne Schulting | Netherlands | Salt Lake City, United States | 4 November 2022 | 1:25.958 | [10] |
| 1500 m | Choi Min-jeong | South Korea | Salt Lake City, United States | 12 November 2016 | 2:14.354 | [11] |
| 3000 m | Jung Eun-ju | South Korea | Harbin, China | 15 March 2008 | 4:46.983 | [12] |
| 3000 m relay | Selma Poutsma Suzanne Schulting Yara van Kerkhof Xandra Velzeboer | Netherlands | Beijing, China | 23 October 2021 | 4:02.809 | [13] |
| Distance | Athlete | Nation | City | Date | Record time | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 m relay | Teun Boer Jens van `t Wout Xandra Velzeboer Michelle Velzeboer | Netherlands | Beijing, China | 14 March 2025 | 2:35.339 | [14] |
The following is the list of athletes who areIndividual gold medalist at the Olympic Winter Games orOverall World Champion and have wonOlympic Winter Games orOverall World Championships at least three times.
| Athlete | Nation | Born | Olympics | World Championships (overall) | Olympics + World Championships (overall) | World Championships (distances, relay, team) | Total | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  | Total |  |  |  | Total |  |  |  | Total | | | | Total | | | | Total | |||
| Ahn Hyun-Soo (Viktor Ahn) | South Korea Russia | 1985 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 22 | 13 | 6 | 41 | 34 | 13 | 9 | 56 |
| Marc Gagnon |  Canada | 1975 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 9 | 4 | 28 | 22 | 11 | 7 | 40 |
| Charles Hamelin | Canada | 1984 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 10 | 37 | 16 | 19 | 13 | 48 |
| Kim Ki-hoon | South Korea | 1967 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 2+ | 1+ | 2+ | 5+ | 6+ | 3+ | 3+ | 12+ |
| Apolo Anton Ohno |  United States | 1982 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 19 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 31 |
| Lee Ho-Suk | South Korea | 1986 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 11 | 11 | 4 | 26 |
| Kim Dong-Sung | South Korea | 1980 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 20 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 25 |
| Shaoang Liu | China | 1998 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 13 |
| Athlete | Nation | Born | Olympics | World Championships (overall) | Olympics + World Championships (overall) | World Championships (distances, relay, team) | Total | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | Total | | | | Total | | | | Total | | | | Total | | | | Total | |||
| Yang Yang (A) | China | 1976 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 26 | 12 | 5 | 43 | 34 | 15 | 6 | 55 |
| Wang Meng | China | 1985 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 18 | 11 | 3 | 32 | 25 | 15 | 4 | 44 |
| Chun Lee-kyung | South Korea | 1976 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 3 | 24 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 34 |
| Choi Min-jeong | South Korea | 1998 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 23 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 33 |
| Sylvie Daigle | Canada | 1962 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 22+ | 8+ | ? | 31+ | 28+ | 11+ | 1+ | 40+ |
| Jin Sun-yu | South Korea | 1988 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 20 |
| Suzanne Schulting | Netherlands | 1997 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 15 |
| Nathalie Lambert | Canada | 1962 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 14+ | 3+ | 2+ | 19+ | 18+ | 7+ | 4+ | 29+ |
| Choi Eun-kyung | South Korea | 1984 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 16 | 6 | 3 | 25 |
| Shim Suk-Hee | South Korea | 1997 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 25 |
| Park Seung-hi | South Korea | 1992 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 21 |
| Zhou Yang | China | 1991 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 18 |
| Arianna Fontana |  Italy | 1990 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 3 | 12 | 21 | 36 |
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