Rotterdam / Netherlands

St Champs World BoxThe ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships start on Friday March 10, 2017 in Rotterdam (NED). The World Short Track Champions will be crowned on Sunday March 12. Unlike the World Cup where skaters race one or two distances and win distance titles, during the World Championships the skaters compete over four distances. The allround classification is based on the results of each skater in the three individual distances 500m, 1000m and 1500m. After the completion of the three distances only the top eight point scorers and ties on the eighth position will skate the 3000m Super Final. For the individual distances the final points 34, 21, 13, 8, 5, 3, 2 and 1 are awarded to Final A and Final B Skaters in descending order commencing with the first place in Final A and after all places in Final A have been awarded, the remaining points will be awarded to Final B in descending order starting with first place. In the case of a penalty or did not finish in the Final A, the skater(s) concerned will be awarded points equal to the winner of the Final B. In the case of a penalty in the Final B, the skater(s) concerned will not be awarded any points. No points are awarded to skaters who receive a yellow or red card or did not start the race.

Choi Min Jeong aiming for third consecutive title
In the Ladies’ field, Choi Min Jeong (KOR) will be attempting to win the World Championship title for a third consecutive year. She will have some tough competition from her teammate Shim Suk Hee, who has a World Championship title to her credit. Marianne St-Gelais (CAN) will aim to improve on her second place in the overall standings from last year’s World Championships. Elise Christie (GBR) decided to skip the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships earlier this year to focus her preparation on this weekend’s competition. Her best result at a World Championship came last year in Seoul, Korea with a third place overall. Fan Kexin (CHN) finished fourth last year and has four career gold medals in the 500m at World Championships. Finally, Suzanne Schulting (NED), will be hoping to clinch the overall title on home ice. She finished fifth at these championships in 2016.

In the Ladies Relay the main competition is expected to be between the teams from Korea, Netherlands, Canada, Italy and China. Korea won four of the six relay events during the World Cup season, and is the defending relay World Champion.

Tough competition in the Men’s field
Reigning World Champion Tianyu Han (CHN) will be vying to retain his title this coming weekend; however he will have strong competition to face. Charles Hamelin (CAN) has finished six times on the podium at the World Championships, with three second places and three third places to his credit: he will be aiming to win that elusive first title. The Hungarian brothers Shaolin Sandor Liu and Shaoang Liu have had a strong season thus far: Shaolin Sandor finished second overall at the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2017. Six-time World Short Track Speed Skating Champion Victor An (RUS) and two-time European Short Track Speed Skating Champion Semen Elistratov (RUS) will be another set of skaters to watch in the men’s field. Always a threat are the Korean skaters with Lee Jun Su, Seo Yi Ra and 2013 Champion Sin Da Woon. Finally, home crowd favourite Sjinkie Knegt (NED) will be aiming to regain the World championship title he won in 2015.

In the Men’s Relay, China will aim to retain its World Championship title against Netherlands, who won the 2016-17 World Cup title for the distance. Other countries to watch in the relay include Canada, Russia, Hungary and Korea.

The schedule for the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships is as follows:

Friday March 10: Qualifying Rounds 1500, 500, 1000 meters Ladies & Men
Saturday March 11: Semi-Finals & Finals 1500 meters Ladies & Men, Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals & Finals 500 meters Ladies & Men, Semi-Finals 3000 meters Relay Ladies, Semi-Finals 5000 meters Relay Men
Sunday March 12: Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals & Finals 1000 meters Ladies & Men, Super-Finals 3000 meters Ladies & Men, Finals 3000 meters Relay Ladies, Finals 5000 meters Relay Men

For full results of the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2017 please refer to /en/short-track-speed-skating/results/201617/isu-world-short-track-speed-skating-championships

 About the KPN ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2017

The ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships have both a single distance and allround format. A total of 10 World titles are up for grabs, Ladies and Men 500m, 1000m, 1500m, allround and Team Relay.

The allround classification is based on the results of each skater in the three individual distances 500m, 1000m and 1500m. After the completion of the three distances the top eight point scorers and ties on the eighth position will skate the 3000m Super Final. For the individual distances the final points 34, 21, 13, 8, 5, 3, 2 and 1 are awarded to Final A and Final B Skaters in descending order. In the case of a penalty or did not finish in the Final A, the skater(s) concerned will be awarded points equal to the winner of the Final B. In the case of a penalty in the Final B, the skater(s) concerned will not be awarded any points. No points are awarded to skaters who receive a yellow or red card or did not start the race.