SHORTTRACKHD.COM - World Cup 3 Montreal

2010 Winter Games

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Short Track Schedule Information

2/26/2010

Chinese women sweep all of the gold! Wang Meng for the gold! Katherine Reutter for Silver! Park Seung-Hi for bronze!

Charles Hamelin wins the gold! Sung Si-Bak silver! Tremblay bronze! Ohno DQ!

Women’s 1000m Final A qualifications:

Semi 1 – Zhou Yang, Park Seung-Hi

Semi 2 – Reutter, Wang Meng

Men’s 500m Final A qualifications:

Semi 1 – Charles Hamelin, Sung Si-Bak

Semi 2 – Ohno, Tremblay

Lee Ho-Suk spun out! Overrotated!

Women’s 1000m Semis qualifications:

Quarter 1 - Park Seung-Hi, Roberge

Quarter 2 – Zhou Yang, Gregg

Quarter 3 – Reutter, Cho Ha-Ri

Quarter 4 – Wang Meng, Borodulina

Ice resurface now.

Men’s 500m Semis qualifications:

Quarter 1 – Charles Hamelin, Sung Si-Bak

Quarter 2 – John Eley, Ohno. Heung advanced from Fauconnet’s fall

Quarter 3 – Lee Ho-Suk, Jean

Quarter 4 – Tremblay, Kwak Yoon-Gy

Women’s 1000m start now.

2/24/2010

South Korean women got disqualified in the relay! China gets the gold! Canada silver! USA BRONZE!

China breaks the South Korean women Olympic relay streak! Canada retains their silver. USA has finally medaled in the relay. They been in a medal drought since 1994. Details to follow on the race.

Men’s 500m Quarters qualifications as follows:

Heat 1 – Sung Si-Bak, Kersholt

Heat 2 – Lee Ho-Suk, Simon Cho

Heat 3 – Kwak Yoon-Gy, Gysel. Jordan Malone fell at the exit on the last corner

Heat 4 – Charles Hamelin, Eley

Heat 5 – Fauconnet, Heung. Liang Wenhao DQ

Heat 6 – Tremblay, Silovs

Heat 7 – Ohno, Jean

Heat 8 – Han Jailaing, Yoshisawa

Women’s 1000m quarters are up soon. I feel so bad for Jordan. He fell at the last corner. Same thing happened to Travis. They have to move onto the relays now.

Women’s 1000m quarters qualifications as follows:

Heat 1 – Park Seung-Hi, Vicent. Baver DQ, Ter Mors DQ

Heat 2 – Roberge, Bernadett

Heat 3 – Borodulina, Ozawa. Mau Asam DQ crosstracking

Heat 4 – Gregg, Fontana

Heat 5 – Reutter, Sun Linlin

Heat 6 – Cho Ha-Ri, Bouvier

Heat 7 – Wang Meng, Van Doorn

Heat 8 – Zhou Yang, Bzura. Huszar DQ on Klein. Klein advanced.

Baver had a late pass on Vicent. Looked like Vicent got spooked and refs got Baver on that. Mau Asam definitely should have gotten DQ’d for that crosstrack. Men’s 500m heats coming up.

*All comments made here is of the opinion of SHORTTRACKHD.com. SHORTTRACKHD.com is NOT affiliated with ANY national governing body of short track speedskating. The purpose of this site is to provide unbiased reporting along with video footage (when available) in high definition to the best of my ability with my knowledge of short track speedskating. Ultimately, SHORTTRACKHD.com is only interested in one goal: the advancement and future of short track speedskating. We cheer for all skaters participating and wish each athlete best of luck.*

2/24/2010

I just want to apologize for taking so long to update my blog. It’s been very hectic during these games. However, I think it’s best for my viewers that I sit down and analyze all the HD video before writing down my thoughts.

I swear the men’s 1000m men’s final was one EPIC battle. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. You had two Canadians, two Koreans, and one lone American at the starting line. Now, the first thing that came to my mind was simple: TEAM SKATING. That’s right. You have two skaters from two countries and the lone American. Team skating is not allowed at all but it’s very VERY difficult to call. But in the end, the Koreans prevailed by making some insanely fast outside passing and just left the competition in the dust. Did you see the gap in the end? It was simply amazing. The sheer power and endurance they displayed was GODLIKE.

So the day after the 1000m men’s final, the talk of the town was all about the Hamelin brothers failing to make the podium. Many Canadians complained about how they just died at the end and just didn’t have anything left. Canada and South Korea had a 40% chance to get medals while USA only had 20%. And yet, Canada got fourth and fifth place. The Canadian men has yet to medal here in Vancouver and literally the day after the race, the articles just started pouring in with past Canadian skaters criticizing the Canadian short track program.

Former speedskating coach says Canadians no longer feared in short track – Jennifer Ditchburn, The Canadian Press

So what was the issue of that race? The Hamelins simply gunned it from the start and eventually couldn’t hold it in the end. Remember, this is short track speedskating, not long track speedskating. Long track speedskating is all about the fastest time. You’re racing against the clock, you are racing against yourself in your own lane. In short track, it doesn’t matter what the time is. The skaters that pass first, second, third is essentially gold, sliver, and bronze. The 1000m could be over two minutes long and it wouldn’t have mattered. As long as skaters are indeed racing, then it’s good. Trust me, those skaters were FLYING. Just check out the split times:*

Now compare that to the 1000m men’s final from Torino 2006:

(Ahn Hyun-Soo, Lee Ho-Suk, Apolo Anton Ohno, Rusty Smith, Li Ye)

1000m Splits	Vancouver 2010	Torino 2006
Lap 1	12.15	13.09
Lap 2	9.16	9.45
Lap 3	9.01	9.58
Lap 4	8.92	9.55
Lap 5	9.06	9.51
Lap 6	8.92	9.16
Lap 7	8.76	8.92
Lap 8	8.79	8.66
Lap 9	8.98	8.82

*Split time is the time it takes to skate each lap. Coaches and skaters use this information to gauge their performance and calculate the end time for each distance (500m, 1000m, 1500m)

Just look at the times. Lap two in Vancouver was already at 9.16 seconds. In Torino they didn’t reach those times until lap six. The strategy to gun from the start and lead out so quickly just didn’t work out. Charles Hamelin led most of the way and helped create the draft for the rest of the skaters. Ohno played it smart by staying in the middle in between the Canadians and Koreans. No way was he going to lead and he surely was not going to stay in the back especially at these speeds. Both Hamelin’s clearly displayed the kind of power they possessed. They are indeed very strong and powerful skaters. I was wondering why Francois Hamelin didn’t lead from the start. Charles Hamelin is definitely stronger than Francois.

But remember short track is not about who is the fastest or strongest, it’s about who crosses the line first. Are you trying to be very fast or are you trying to WIN? Those are two different things. Sure you can be very fast, but what if you can only be fast for four laps? Five laps? The race is for nine laps. You can be the strongest skater out there with huge bulging leg muscles, but if you don’t have the endurance or the strategy, you won’t win. This just goes to show you how the Koreans strategically planned their assault and they executed perfectly. You need a combination of strength, speed, endurance, and strategy. Having all of these qualities provide the winning formula.

The South Koreans just sat in the back conserving all their energy while the Canadians broke the wind for them plus Ohno. Then with three to go they just turned on their afterburners and kicked in their turbo going on the outside! Passing on the outside requires a ton of strength and energy for the skater. Did you see the gap they had on the rest of the competition? It was amazing. Oh and trust me there was no team skating going on. Lee Ho-Suk and Lee Jung-Su were clearly competing against each other.

Ohno definitely wanted to get back on the podium and went on the outside on both Hamelin’s. The energy he conserved staying behind the Hamelin’s allowed him to do so. After he went around Charles Hamelin, the race was already over. Canadian men would not medal. It’s 0 for 2 for Canadian men in the individual distance.

Their last chance is the 500m. Charles Hamelin won this distance at World Championships in Austria last March. Francois Louis Tremblay and Olivier Jean will be joining him for Canada. The men’s heats start tomorrow.

In another part of the discussion, Zhou Yang clearly dominated the 1500m for the women. With three laps to go, she just left everyone behind. Once that gap widened so much, it was a fight for silver and bronze. She got her gold medal at only 18 years old. Her win in the 1500m helped China break the South Korean winning streak at the Olympics at this distance. South Korean women have won gold in the 1500m in Salt Lake 2002 when the distance was added and in Torino 2006.

Chinese women are poised to make history by sweeping all the individual medals. Wang Meng has the chance to win the 1000m to allow China to sweep all the individual distances with gold. Chinese women are also poised to break South Korean’s gold medal streak in the 3000m relay. South Korean women have won gold in the relay that dates as far back to Lillehammer 1994. Since then, South Korean women have always won gold in the relay. Lillehammer 1994 GOLD; Nagano 1998 GOLD; Salt Lake 2002 GOLD; Torino 2006 GOLD; Vancouver 2010 Gold? Not if China can help it.

All the powerhouse countries are set for the women’s relay. United States women have never gotten to an A final for the relay since 1994. They are definite medal contenders and will be duking it out with China, South Korea, and Canada.

Men’s 500m is set to start today as well. Expect to see some dangerous passing and exciting races.

2/20/2010

Lee Jung-Su gets his second gold medal! South Korea is on fire here! Lee Ho-Suk got his silver. I guess he redeemed himself but not doing anything crazy again Jung-Su in the end. DID you see that gap those Koreans had? It wasn’t even a competition in the end. South Koreans just powered over all of them and built such a big gap. Ohno gets his 7^th medal and becomes the most decorated US Winter Olympic athlete of all time! Hamelin’s had their chance but simply couldn’t keep up. Update with my analysis soon.

I KNEW IT! I TOLD YOU! ZHOU YANG HAS THE SHEER STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE TO TAKE IT HOME! She led for the last three laps! Chinese women dominating these Olympics! The 1000m is South Korean women’s lap home to save face.

Men’s 1000m final coming up soon. Stay tuned!

Men’s 1000m semis advancement:

Semi 1 – Lee Jung-Su, Lee Ho-Suk advanced. JR Celski DQ on Francois Hamelin. Hamelin advanced.

Semi 2 – Ohno, Charles Hamelin advanced. No DQ on Si-Bak but he came in third.

Man lots of contact in the men’s semis. I thought JR had a clean pass on Francois Hamelin but I guess the contact was made on the exit. There was some contact against Si-Bak and Charles Hamelin during the race and at the line too. Hamelin tried to go on the inside and Si-Bak made contact against him. Ohno played it smart by capitalizing on the contact and easily passed on the inside for the advancement. It’s going to be Lee Jung-Su, Lee Ho-Suk, both Hamelins and Ohno for the men’s 1000m final. This is going to be a very interesting race.

Women’s 1500m Semis advancements:

Semi 1 – Lee Eun-Byul, Vicent

Semi 2 – Huszar, Radanova advance. Wang Meng DQ. Reutter and Cho Ha-Ri advance as well

Semi 3 – Park Seung-Hi, Zhou Yang advance.

It’s going to be a STACKED FINAL. EIGHT skaters on the line. All three Koreans advanced. Zhou Yang? China’s last hope. Reutter? USA’s last hope. Vicent? Canada’s last hope. I don’t think Huszar and Radanova will be a threat.

Men’s 1000m semi’s are up next.

Men’s 1000m Quarters advancements:

Quarter 1 – Charles Hamelin, Ohno

Quarter 2 – Lee Jung Su, Han Jialiang

Quarter 3 – Sung Si-Bak, JR Celski

Quarter 4 – Lee Ho-Suk, Francois Hamelin

Lee Ho-Suk did his patented no straight away stroke and just passed them all out the outside! Harald fell on his own. These are fast 1000m races.

Women’s 1500m Heat advancements:

Heat 1 – Sun Linlin, Vicent, Evteeva

Heat 2 – Park Seung-Hi, Zhou Yang, Novotna

Heat 3 – Wang Meng, Reutter, Maltais

Heat 4 – Cho Ha-Ri, Roberge, Radanova

Heat 5 – Fontana, Boroudulina, Huszar

Heat 6 – Lee Eun-Byul, Sadakane, Nikolova

Baver had a desperation attempt to block Klein causing her to fault as well as herself. It was a risky move but I guess it worked for Baver since they advanced her.

Men’s 1000m Quarters coming up.

2/20/2010 3pm PST

Women’s 1500m Heats Start list

Men’s 1000m Quarters Start list

2/20/2010 2:30pm PST

The unstoppable Wang Meng win’s the women’s 500m gold medal for China. There was no doubt in my mind or anyone else’s for that matter that she would have issues winning. Her sheer strength, endurance, and technique is beyond world class...she’s more what we call in the fighting game community (another thing I cover haha) “godlike”. Haha. Some people claim she’s a man (LOL) but make no mistake she can probably beat some of the men considering the fact that she trains with the men in China. Her gold medal win has allowed China to defend their title in the 500m for three Olympics. Yang Yang A won China’s first winter Olympic gold medal from the Salt Lake games in 2002. Wang Meng defended China’s 500m gold medal win from 2006 Torino and here in Vancouver 2010. Maybe she’ll have another four years for Sochi 2014? We’ll see.

I’m also happy for Marianne St-Gelais! Her silver medal win in the 500m on her birthday no less was a win for Canada! Not bad for her first Olympic debut! She had a great start off the line that got her the second position. Her smile on her face after her 500m was cheered on by many Canadians for her efforts. I have to admit it was very funny and cool at the same time to see her get her silver medal during the medal ceremony. She was all giddy jumping up and down after getting her medal. She should be happy and we’re all happy for her! Charles Hamelin cheered on for his girlfriend for her win in the back!

Now let’s get to the 500m Final. Remember the start in crucial in the 500m. The 500m is the only distance in which judges will allow small amounts of contact during the entrance and exit of the first corner. Wang Meng and her powerful start were able to get to the front first to avoid all of the traffic with St-Gelais right behind her. There was some contact with Gregg and Fontana, but again this it the 500m. It’s killed or be killed. Jessica Gregg had a tough start. Usually in the 500m, if you don’t get a good start in the first corner, the race is already done unless someone falls or if you’re Wang Meng (she can easily build up so much speed to pass the skater in the front in the 500m). After the first corner, the race was pretty much for second place. Fontana couldn’t build up enough speed to pass St-Gelais. St-Gelais was also protecting the inside track very well to prevent Fontana from passing.

St-Gelais, Fontana, and Gregg are all still very young. I think all three still has what it takes in the next four years to qualify for Sochi 2014. But for the Canadians a win on home soil would have made it much sweeter, as in this case for Marianne. You should see on TV with Charles Hamelin and Marianne celebrating with champagne and happy smiles.

But the celebration needs to be short. Charles Hamelin and his brother now need to focus on the men’s 1000m. They face a dominant South Korean team of Lee Jung-Su, Lee Ho-Suk, and Sung Si-Bak as well as Apolo Ohno and JR Celski from the United States. After what happened in the 1500m, Si-Bak is definitely looking towards redemption and try to medal. He won the 1000m in Montreal (World Cup 3) and made it to the final in Marquette (World Cup 4). Lee Jung-Su got silver for both of those world cups. Lee Ho-Suk hasn’t been racing since his injury he is still a threat with his outside passing. Let’s hope he doesn’t do any crazy inside passes and if he does it better be good. I’m sure Ho-Suk is going to think twice this time considering what happened in the 1500m final. I won’t be surprised if I see the Korean wave in the 1000m final (Korean wave = all three Koreans in the final. It’s happened before and I’m sure it could happen again).

Both Hamelin’s look good as well. Both Charles and Francois got bronze in Montreal and Marquette respectively. Charles fell involving a crash in Marquette and decided not to skate the rest of the 1000m to conserve his strength and to avoid injury considering the fact that Canada had already secured two spots in the 1000m. Canadian men would have had a third spot for Olivier Jean if he didn’t get disqualified in Montreal/Marquette. Although he did win the 1000m overall at Canadian Trials, it’s only fair that Jean lose his spot since he was the one that got DQ’d. Francois shouldn’t have to pay for his mistakes. Nothing against Olivier Jean, but fair is fair.

Apolo Ohno is looking to do well in the 1000m after Ahn Hyun-Soo and Lee Ho-Suk won gold and silver back in Torino. He got to the finals in Montreal/Marquette and won gold in Marquette in this distance. JR Celski is also very strong in the 1000m as well. He can speed up so fast and maintain his speed for 9 laps. His technique allows him to maintain top speed with minimal energy wasted. Travis Jayner was eliminated in the 1000m heats after hitting a block on the last corner. That was his one and only individual distance here at these games.

Videos below for both 1000m finals from World Cups for the men.

For the women’s 1500m, China and South Korea are the favorites to win this event. Both countries have very strong skaters with a lot of endurance. For China Zhou Yang is the favorite to win this distance. While Wang Meng is strong, she’s usually better in the 500m + 1000m. Zhou Yang is the 1500m specialist from China.

South Korea’s Lee Eun-Byul and Cho Ha-Ri look to try to get onto the podium as well. I’m surprised to see Kim Min-Jung not skating the 1500m. She’s usually very good at this distance.

USA’s women’s best hope in the 1500m is Katherine Reutter. This is her best distance. She won the gold in Montreal after a spill with the Koreans and Chinese. She will be trying to medal as well. Kimberly Derrick and Allison Baver will be joining her in the 1500m.

Canadian women are usually not contenders in the 1500m based on past Olympics. Just as we saw in the 500m final on the 17^th, they are usually known for their sprints. Veteran Kalyna Roberge is looking to lead the way along with four time Olympian Tania Vicent and Olympic rookie Valerie Maltais. Both Roberge and Maltais did make it to the finals in Marquette.

Videos below for 1500m Finals for the women from the World Cups.

Remember to follow my twitter tonight for live results! If you don’t want to know, don’t check! LOL.

2/17/2010 6pm

Men’s 1000m advancements to the quarters:

Heat 1 – Charles Hamelin, Knegt

Heat 2 – Francois Hamelin, Tyson Heung

Heat 3 – Sung Si-Bak, Skjellerup. Chataignier DQ for impeding on Rodagari. Rodagari advance as well

Heat 4 – Han Jialiang, Bean advance. Jayner stepped on a block, came in third.

Heat 5 – Confortola, Fauconnet

Heat 6 – Ohno, Wenhao

Heat 7 – Lee Jung-Su, JR Celski

Heat 8 – Lee Ho-Suk, Silovs

Women’s 500m advancements to the semis:

Quarter 1 – Reutter, Roberge

Quarter 2 – Wang Meng, Gregg

Quarter 3 – Zhou Yang, Fontana

Quarter 4 – St. Gelais, Lee Eun-Byul

Men’s 1000m heats up next. There was a bad call made on Park Seung-Hi. Roberge toes in on the ice and impedes against her but the refs felt otherwise. BAD call.

2/17/2010 4:30pm

Starting lists (instead of typing them, I’m just going to link it from the Vancouver2010 site)

Men’s 1000m Heats

Women’s 500m Quarters

Men’s 5000m Relay Semis

Skaters are on the ice right now warming up. Follow my tweets!

My thoughts on the Men’s 1500m Final

It’s been a few days after the Men’s 1500m Final and I’ve heard comments from everyone ranging from skaters, to fans, to media, among others. I think it’s time to state my opinion about that matter. Let me just say this: Sung Si-Bak was ROBBED of his silver medal or A medal.

The 1500m race shocked the world on Saturday with two Koreans going down allowing Apolo Ohno and JR Celski cruise through for silver and bronze. Lee Jung-Su came through first for the gold medal. Trust me, I must have watched this race maybe 50 times [I’ve recorded the CTV broadcast in HD =)]. Many Koreans are angered are Lee Ho-Suk for making such a bad pass on his teammate Sung Si-Bak But to me the problem is that a majority of the people here only watch short track NOW is because it’s the Winter Games when the world is watching.

I’ve been hearing echoes that Lee Ho-Suk was trying to be greedy. But was he really? Let’s go through some questions:

Was Lee Ho-Suk greedy for making a last minute desperate attempt at trying to get Gold even though the skaters in front of him were his teammates? Yes and no.

Yes, because what he did was totally uncharacteristic of him. It was a last ditch desperate attempt at trying to get gold, EVEN if that meant taking out his teammates. The Koreans had a chance to sweep the 1500m. Ho-Suk should have thought about settling for bronze for the benefit of the South Korea. If South Korea DID sweep the 1500m, it would be one for the record books. It would also prove to the world that South Korea is the best country in short track speedskating.

No, because this it the OLYMPICS and this is SHORT TRACK speedskating. This is what they have been training for. Lee Ho-Suk felt that it was his time to shine. You have to understand that now is the time to make it happen, to take that CHANCE. If it means making a risky pass on your teammate? Then SO BE IT. It’s time to go for BROKE. It’s DO OR DIE. It’s go BIG or go HOME. This is an INDIVIDUAL event. Everyone needs to realize that. When you go to the start, you are skating so that YOU can win. Each skater that is on the line is trying to get on the podium for gold! At the same time, they are representing their country. You have to not look at this from a country’s standpoint; you have to look at this from a competitor’s standpoint.

Lee Ho-Suk been in the shadow of Ahn Hyun-Soo and now this is his moment. In Torino you could see it. He purposely held back and got silver behind Ahn Hyun-Soo. With Ahn Hyun-Soo out of the picture (knee injury in January of 2008), its Ho-Suk’s turn to shine. Think about it. Ahn Hyun-Soo did the same thing. He was in the shadow of Kim Dong-Sung as well. When Kim Dong-Sung retired, it was Ahn’s turn to step up to the podium and he did by being World Champion FIVE times in a row. Could you imagine how Ho-Suk felt that entire time? If Ahn didn’t injure his knee, he would definitely be racing in Vancouver 2010 and Lee Ho-Suk would still continue to be in his shadow.

There has been talk of team skating. Team skating? Give me a break! Considering what happened in the 1500m, one thing is for sure and VERY CLEAR in my mind: There is definitely NO team skating going on here even among Koreans. It’s every man for himself and what Lee Ho-Suk did on Saturday is a clear indication that each skater is trying to get on the podium on their own. It seems that the days of team skating has ended and now we have a more democratic approach with the Koreans. I won’t be surprised if the Koreans were racing among themselves in the 1000m final.

I spoke to Sung Si-Bak yesterday and he was not happy about what happened. But he has to focus on his other individual distances now. Make no mistake Ohno and Celski got SUPER lucky for silver and bronze. But hey, that’s short track. Being lucky is part of the sport as well. Steven Bradbury got his gold in 2002 Salt lake when Ahn Hyun-Soo, Apolo Ohno, and Mathieu Turcotte all crash out of the final corner. Simon Cho got lucky in the 500m at US Olympic Trials as well that allowed him to get on the US Olympic team. Skaters will take what they can get. Being at the right place at right time can yield favorable results.

I have to admit there was some impeding going on during the semis especially with Apolo Ohno against Lee Jung-Su on that inside pass after watching the video numerous times. The judges didn’t call it because the refs can be less lenient on the inside passes. You can see Jung-Su with his hands up signaling about the pass but judges didn’t budge. Make NO mistake if Lee Jung-Su fell because of that inside pass, Ohno would have DEFINITELY been disqualified. There was a lot of contact between Ohno and the Korean skaters. There were faults on both sides with more contact than usual.

What happened to Lee Ho-Suk and Sung Si-Bak was unfortunate. Do I think they deserve it? No. I don’t think anyone deserves being robbed of a medal especially at the Olympics. One thing is for sure though between Lee Ho-Suk and Sung Si-Bak: they better set their differences aside because the relays are coming up. This is when they need to skate as a team. There is no time for personal issues. South Korea is defending their relay title from Torino 2006. Based on the racing I’ve seen in the 1500m, they look poised to do it again in the relay. The Koreans need to stop dwelling on the past and move forward for the 1000m, 500m, and the relay. They are out for blood now considering what happened and we should see some exciting racing soon.

2/13/2009

LEE JUNG-SU WINS THE 1500m GOLD MEDAL! OHNO GETS SILVER! AND JR CELKSI GETS BRONZE!

It was SO close for a Korean sweep in the men’s 1500m. But Ho-Suk tried to go on the inside taking out Sung Si-Bak allow Ohno and Celski to claim silver and bronze! In my mind Ho-Suk should have just settled for third to make it a Korean sweep. But this being the Winter Games, I guess you go for broke.

Update 2/13/2010 7:15pm

Women’s 3000m Relay Semis advances:

Semi 1: South Korea, USA

Semi 2: China, Canada

So the women’s relay final is going to be between South Korea, USA, China, and Canada! That’s it tonight for the women. Onto the men’s 1500m Finals!

Update 2/13/2010 6:50pm

Men’s 1500m Semis advancing to the finals:

Semi 1: Lee Jung-Su (another record at 2:10:949), Ohno

Semi 2: Lee Ho-Suk, Liang Wenhao

Semi 3: JR Celski, Sung Si-Bak

ALL three Koreans have advanced in the finals. There is a chance for the Korean tsunami wave to take it all! However, JR Celski and Ohno both remain a threat in the finals. Liang Wenhao is the lone Chinese skater in the final of the 1500m. This should be an interesting final. Stay tuned!

Update 2/13/2010 6:20pm

Skaters advancing in the Women’s 500m:

Heat 1: Reutter, Cho

Heat 2: St. Gelais, Lindsay

Heat 3: Meng, Novotna

Heat 4: Lee Eun-Byul, Gregg

Heat 5: Fontana, Dudek

Heat 6: Zhou Yang, Roberge

Heat 7: Park Seung-Hi, Elise Christie

Heat 8: Radonova, Pierron

There were some falls and slips but not too much. Wang Meng sets a new record at 42.926. The second heat with St. Gelais and Lindsay was exciting! Men’s 1500m Semis are up next. I hope you are enjoying my tweets!

Update 2/13/2010 5:43pm PST

We’re having an ice break now from the men’s 1500m quarters.

Skaters that advanced:

Quarter 1: Lee Ho-Suk, Olivier Jean, Liu Xianwei

Quarter 2: Charles Hamelin, Wenhao, Praus. DQ Jordan Malone

Quarter 3: Lee Sung-Ju, JR Celski, Rodigari

Quarter 4: Confortola, Kengt, Whelbourne

Quarter 5: Ohno, Gysel, Darzas. Bastille DQ on Mattei. Mattei advance as well.

Quarter 6: Sung Si-Bak, Harald Silovs, Fujimoto

With Jordan Malone’s DQ, he is done in the 1500m. I don’t know why he wated so long to make his move. He was in the back the entire time and decided to make a move with three laps to go. He still has a chance in the 500m for individuals. However, with Bastille’s DQ, he is essentially done with his individual distances. He now skates the relays.

There were a lot of slips and spills during the men’s 1500m. Everyone doesn’t seem to be holding back. The times I’m seeing here are really fast. Lee Jung-Su of South Korea set a record in the 1500m. I’ll be updating this page again soon. Women’s 500m Heats coming up.

2/13/2010

It’s time to make it happen. No more messing around. It’s now the REAL DEAL. I’m here in Canada for my coverage of the 2010 Winter Games! Today is the first day of racing with the men’s 1500m, women’s 500m heats, and the women’s 3000m semi-final relay. The start list for today’s racing as follows:

Men’s 1500m Start list

Women’s 500m Start list

Women’s 3000m Relay Semi-finals Start list

Here are some videos to refresh your memory on World Cups 3 and 4 from last November during the qualifiers for tomorrow’s races:

Remember. In short track, you either advance or you go home. It’s as simple as that. If you don’t advance to the next round, you are finished with that specific distance. There is no second chance. This is where it counts. The start of the Games can end just as quickly as you get on the ice. It’s time to make it HAPPEN.

Men’s 1500m

For the men’s 1500m, most of the powerhouse countries should be able to get to the semifinals without any issue. Returning on the ice from a broken ankle is none other than the insane skater himself Lee Ho-Suk of South Korea. Since breaking his ankle, he had to skip out on World Cups 3 + 4 so he hasn’t been to any competitions since then. I seriously don’t think he will disappoint at all. Although he is widely known as a skater with a “dynamic outside pass”, please bear in mind that he is also has an insane INSIDE pass. Case and point:

Along with Lee Ho-Suk, teammates Sung Si-Bak and Lee Jung-Su are joining him. All THREE skaters are capable of winning a medal here in Vancouver for the 1500m. At World Cup 1 in Beijing in 2009, they swept the men’s 1500m. The South Koreans pose a threat to everyone here for medals. After all, most of South Korea’s gold medals are from short track speedskating for the Winter Games.

For Canada, Charles Hamelin leads the way along with Olivier Jean and Guilliaume Bastille. Charles won the 1500m at World Cup 3 in Montreal literally beating Sung Si-Bak of South Korea at the line (first video on top). At World Cup 4, he came in third (second video on top). Hamelin definitely should not be ignored for a medal here in the 1500m. I’m not too sure about Olivier Jean and Guilliaume Bastille. Jean should do fine just as long as he stops making bad inside passes. He’s a big skater and any slight contact on the inside on any skater and the judges will definitely DQ him in a heartbeat like they did at World Cups 3 + 4 in the 1000m (his bad inside passes cost his own spot to skate the 1000m here in Vancouver). Case and point again:

Guilliaume Bastille did not do too well in Montreal or Marquette. He barely scraped by just to qualify for his spot here at the Games, but we’ll see if a lot has changed or not. Remember. Canada has NEVER won a SINGLE gold medal on their home soil for any Winter Games. They failed to do so in Montreal in ’76, and they failed again in Calgary in ’88 (short track debuted as a demonstration sport for this year). So the pressure is on for a Canadian to make it happen.

For the United States, we have five time medalist Apolo Anton Ohno. He got 2^nd in the 1500m at World Cup 4 right behind Lee Jung-Su of South Korea. The 1500m is usually Ohno’s best distance, although I think he has a better chance in the 1000m. He skipped out on the opening ceremony last night (he skipped the one in Torino in 2006 as well) to prepare for his races today. He failed to make it to the 1500m Final in Torino in 2006 when his hand slipped on Li Ye’s skate from China.

Then we have JR Celski. He injured himself from a horrific crash at US Trials back in Sept. During the 500m semis, he slipped and tried to stop before hitting the pads. Upon impact, he sliced himself on this thigh from his own blade with a cut six inches long and two inches deep. Trust me, I personally saw the whole thing unfold and I do have it on video. It was not a pretty sight. He has not participated in any competition since then and has been training hard + rehabilitating as well. He did lose some muscle during the rehabilitation but I have no doubt he will do some damage in the 1500m today.

Jordan Malone skated in World Cups 1 + 2 last year. Literally within weeks before World Cups 3 and 4, he injured his knee that prevented him from racing. He too has not participated in any races since then. We’ll see what happens.

Haralds Silovs from Lativa is another name to know for the 1500m today! Hell, he’s skating the men’s 5000m today for long track speedskating in the AM, and then heading over to the Pacific Coliseum to skate short track later on during the night! He’s the first person to qualify both for long track and short track racing!

Women’s 500m

There is no doubt in my mind that Wang Meng of China is the favorite to win this event. She dominated this distance in Torino, most of the World Cups from 2006 until now, and I don’t think she’ll have a problem with Vancouver….just as long as nothing funny happens since we know short track can be unpredictable. Usually with Wang Meng during the 500m final, when that gun goes, you skate for second, not first. She can easily pass any skater with ease with her brute strength.

Other skaters looking to get to the podium are Kalyna Roberge, Marianne St-Gelais, and Jessica Gregg of Canada. All three skaters here have a strong start and capable of making it to the final.

I’m surprised to see Zhou Yang of China skating the 500m along with Zhao Nannan. Zhou Yang is usually a 1500m skater. Liu Qiuhong of China typically would skate the 500m meter based on the past World Cups.

From the USA are Katherine Reutter and Alyson Dudek. Reutter and Dudek shouldn’t have any issues making it to the semis, but they will be up against some stiff competition against the Chinese and Canadians. Reutter did make it to the 500m final in Marquette last November.

From South Korea, we have Park Seung-Hi, Lee Eun-Byul, and Cho Ha-Ri. South Koreans typically aren’t favorites in the 500m. They usually do really well in the 1500m and the 1000m. Park Seung-Hi did make it to the final as well in the 500m in Marquette so don’t count her out yet.

Stay tuned for more updates!

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