Olympics Short Track Skating, Events, Athletes, Teams, Pictures

MAIN Sports Olympic Games Olympic Short Track Skating

Best described as a free-for-all on ice, Short Track skating is a blur of arms and legs pumping furiously around a narrow oval - only slowing slightly when skaters round the sharp turns at high speeds.

First entered as an Olympic event at Albertiville in 1992, Short Track has quickly risen as a star attraction to thrill spectators at the modern Winter Games.

Short track races first caught on after speed skating became an established amateur sport, at about the time the first long-track world championships were held in 1889. Three years later, the International Skating Union was founded in Holland to further the sport and provide international governing rules.

However, short track only came into its own in the late 1970's, with the first unofficial Short Track world championships, hosted in Quebec, Canada soon followed by the first official Short Track World Championships in Paris in 1981.

In 1988, short track debuted at the Calgary Games as a demonstration sport and only became an official Winter Olympic Sport in 1992 in Albertville.

Short track speed skating consists of eight events in which skaters compete not against the clock, but against each other. Men and women skate in 500m, 1000m, and 1500m races, along with a a 5000m relay for men, and a 3000m relay for women.

Currently the strongest national competitors in the Short Track events hail from Canada, South Korea, US, Japan and Italy.

More about Olympic Short Track Speed Skating around the Web:

Short Track Speed Skating - Vancouver 2010 - The complete 2010 event schedule & venue guide, ticket information, related sports terms, training tips, photo gallery.

International Olympic Committee - Short Track Speed Skating - Overview of the short track competitions, list of events, Olympic records, athlete profiles, picture gallery, related links.

U.S. Speedskating - The national governing body's official site offering headline news, schedule of long and short track events, speedskating facts and info, membership details.

Kiat.net - Olympic Winter Games Short Track Speed Skating - History and brief overview of the sport with a list of Olympic records in short track.

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