#ShortTrackSkating #Gangwon2024
Amelia Chua (SGP) in action during the Short Track Speed Skating Women's 1500M at the Gangneung Ice Arena. @ANOC/Wander Roberto
Singapore skaters with trailblazing spirit hope to inspire at Gangwon 2024
Amelia Chua’s (SGP) path to the Winter Youth Olympic Games Gangwon 2024 has been a journey filled with determination, as the Singapore-born skater fought to secure her spot in Gangwon during the qualification period in Short Track Speed Skating.
When Singapore made its debut at the previous Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne four years ago, it was represented by three young talents. This time around, at Gangwon 2024, Chua is only accompanied by fellow racer Ryo Ong (SGP).
“It’s a huge honour and privilege to finally be here. It shows that you always have to believe in yourself,” Chua said, after her quarter-final race in the Women’s 1500m on Saturday; having missed out on a place for the next round.
“It’s not so much about winning for me here, I just hope to break some personal records and show that skaters from Singapore can perform at this level as well,” Ong added, offering a humble yet encouraging outlook on his expectations for the Games.
Amelia Chua (SGP), wearing helmet number 27, competes in the Short Track Speed Skating Women’s 1500m at the Gangneung Ice Arena. @OIS/Joe Toth
Legacy programme and training overseas
Chua and Ong are both products of a legacy programme from the Winter Olympic Games PyeongChang 2018, designed to develop athletes from countries with no existing infrastructure and background in winter sports.
Having been selected by their National Olympic Committee to participate in the programme last year, the two skaters have been reaping the rewards of their dedication ever since - securing Singapore’s spots in Gangwon being a testament to their work.
In preparation for the Games and in a bid to take their racing to the next level, Chua and Ong continued to look overseas for training, in the United Kingdom and South Korea respectively.
Ong has been working together with a team of Korean coaches in Busan, South Korea over the past months and tells about his experiences, after finishing in sixth place in the Men’s 1500m B final on Saturday.
“When I have a break from school or during the holidays, I often travel to South Korea to train with a group of skaters. The facilities over there are much better,” Ong said.
“I realize the Korean skaters heavily focus on their stamina, so they mainly do exercises like intervals or long-distance running to really get in shape. And they focus a lot on their form, to make sure that they can skate well.”“The training sessions have helped me to increase my stamina as well. Even though my form is still not perfect, I’m slowly improving and getting better.”
Ryo Ong (SGP) and Amelia Chua (SGP) carry the flag into the stadium for Singapore during the Opening Ceremony at the Gangneung Oval. @ANOC/Wander Roberto
Winning a medal at the Gangneung Ice Arena this week may still be too far out of reach for Ong and Chua, yet Ong also likes to look at the bigger picture. He has his sights already set on the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
“I’ll be targeting the Winter Olympics. I just have to train really hard. Right now, with my standard, I’m nowhere close to qualifying (for the Winter Olympics). But I hope to just get better as soon as possible. It all starts with belief,” Ong said.
Gold medal sweep for China
Meanwhile, Li Jinzi and Zhang Xinzhe led China to a gold medal sweep in the 1000m finals on Sunday.
The women’s final had to be restarted after a bad crash involving Angel Daleman (NED), the Dutch athlete who is attempting to get medals in both Short Track and Speed Skating.
Daleman, who spent some time lodged under the crash barriers, was disqualified and left the rink in tears. With the talented Netherlands racer out, the Chinese colleagues were welded together at the front again. Li took gold, Yang Jingru (CHN) the silver, with Polina Omelchuk (KAZ) securing bronze.
"I’m super happy to win another medal,” said Li. “My plan was to speed up in the last five laps, but when the [Daleman] accident happened we had to restart and my plan changed. In the second round I was tired, but I managed to adjust myself. I didn’t think too much.”
Yang was also content, especially as she has her favourite distance, the 500m, on Monday.
“I was so confident today that I could win one, so I didn’t feel tired,” she said. “Today and yesterday weren’t my best distance, so I am confident that I can win again tomorrow.”
China prevailed in the men’s final, too, after Saturday’s 1500m gold medallist Joo Jaehee (KOR) crashed out in the final. Zhang Xinzhe (CHN) took the title, with Muhammed Bozdag (TUR) second and Kida Raito (JPN) third.
Zhang also attributed his victory to his relaxed approach to the Youth Olympic Games.
“Yesterday we had a snowball fight in the village. It was fun,” he said. “In Korea the snow is different to how it is in China, it is more sticky and better for making snowballs. I used all my focus and effort to win the gold.”
Bozdag, meanwhile, was delighted to break the Asian monopoly of the podium with Turkiye’s first-ever medal at a Winter Youth Olympic Games.
“I’m very happy to make history for Turkiye, this medal is very important,” he said. “I hope the new generation will get more success than me. This is just the start.”
Racing at the Gangneung Ice Arena continues tomorrow (Monday) with the Men’s and Women’s 500m. Full schedule.
You can watch the live stream of the competitions here.
