| English | Chinese | Korean | Thai | Russian | Japanese |
Enjoy Short Track Speed Skating Ten Times
History of Short Track Speed Skating
Short Track Speed Skating was invented in England with an idea that the ice link for hockey and figure skating may also be used for speed skating. The competition held in 1938 was the first one in the world.
The short track speed skating is a new Olympic event which was first adopted in Albert Ville Olympic Games in 1938. Nagano is the third Olympic Games for the short track.
Short Track Race
In the short track race several skaters start simultaneously and compete the arrival order. The winners (usually the first and the second) can go into the next race as far as the final race. The skaters were allowed only 20 minute rest between each competition. Thus the skater with quicker recover ability is at advantage in the short track race.
The Figure 1 shows the location of the corner blocks. The corner lanes are shifted 1 meter each time.
Skating Track
Ice link of 30m*60m in size is used with an oval track of 111.12m in length. No lines were drawn on the ice except the start line and the finish line. The curved track is shown by the seven blocks on the ice. Because the curve track becomes rough after the race, the blocks are shifted at every race.
Variation of Race
Short track speed skating has the individual race of various length and the relay in the unique style. The individual race consists of 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 3000m of both male and female. The relay is 3000m for female while the male relay is 3000m until the semifinal and 5000m in the final race. The Olympic games take 500m and 1000m relay of male and female as formal events.
The tactics in the race is important. The skater may dash in the middle race to confuse the opponent. The ability to predict the race and adjust for the circumstances is crucial to win the race.
Uniform
The short track speed skating, four or six skaters running together, is full of danger. Safety equipment such as helmet and gloves are obligatory. Skaters often wear the knee guard and the shin guard under the uniform.
Skating boots are made strong enough to endure the high speed on the small oval track. Skate edge is placed a little more inside on the boot sole than the normal skating boot.
Win-or-lose Crux
500m race is extremely tense from the start. The skater has a close race with the competitors expecting the speed and the location of the other skaters. The increasingly tense atmosphere of the race attracts people to the short track speed skating.
The tactics in the race is important. The skater may dash in the middle race to confuse the opponent. The ability to predict the race and adjust for the circumstances is crucial to win the race.
Start
In track and field the runner in the outer lane takes the forward position and start the race. However all the skaters starts at the same line in the short track speed skating . The outside skater must run a longer distance than the inside one and has disadvantage.
Cornering
The skaters at the Olympics run around the oval track in about 9 seconds. They pass the corner as fast as 43km / hour.
They put all their weight on the razor-thin edge and incline their body as low as 30 degrees from the ice link. To cope with the great centrifugal force during the corner highly skilled skating is needed.
Centrifugal Force
Why can world-class skaters turn the corer so fast?
Because they resist being thrown outside by inclining the body and producing the centripetal force by themselves. That's why they can manage the fast cornering. (Fig 2)
You can see how difficult the short track speed skating is!
Fig2:Comparison of centripetal force and inclination angle in 200m track runner and short track speed skater