ISU

The battle is on at the ISU World Sprint Championships in Changchun. In both the ladies’ and the men’s tournament the Olympic 500m and 1000m champions are engaged in a close fight for the title. After the first day in the ladies’ competition, 500m champion Nao Kodaira (JPN) is in the lead with a small margin over 1000m champion Jorien ter Mors (NED). In the men’s tournament Olympic 500m champion Håvard Holmefjord Lorentzen (NOR) is on top, with defending World Sprint champion Kai Verbij (NED) and Olympic 1000m champion Kjeld Nuis (NED) at his heels.

When the last note of La Terre Vue Du Ciel faded away at Gangneung Ice Arena, on February 15, after Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot had jumped high and turned on the ice in breathtaking lifts, spins and spirals, the duo collapsed in happiness. "It just happened," Sachvenko said about that unplanned moment at the end of the performance that would take them from fourth place after the Short Program to the top of the podium. 

The ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2018 will be held at the Ice Arena Tomaszow Mazowiecki in Poland on March 2-4.

With the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games done and dusted, the sprinters do not have time for much rest. On March 3-4, they will take the ice again for the 49th ISU World Sprint Speed Skating Championships in Changchun, China. Kai Verbij (NED) and Nao Kodaira (JPN) will defend the title they won in Calgary (CAN) last year.

Håvard Holmefjord Lorentzen (NOR) brought Speed Skating back to life in Norway. The 25-year-old sprinter from Bergen seized the 500m gold at PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, 70 years after Finn Helgesen won the last Norwegian 500m at the 1948 Olympics in Saint Moritz/Switzerland, 50 years after Magne Thomassen took the last Norwegian medal in the 500m (silver), and 25 years after Adne Søndral grabbed the last Norwegian Olympic Speed Skating title in the 1500m.

Viktor Knoch, Csaba Burjan and brothers Shaoang and Shaolin Sandor Liu (HUN) felt the weight of a nation on their shoulders, when they entered the rink for the men’s 5000m relay final at Gangneung Ice Arena on the final day of Short Track.

The Gangneung Olympic Park, open every day, hosted all ice events and a wide variety of outdoor performances. Aside from the sporting competitions, the spectators enjoyed cultural events, sponsor booths, technology experiences, and the Super Store.

After five medal events and 11 days of competition at the Gangneung Ice Arena, the Figure Skating events at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games come to an end with the Exhibition Gala. It is the last chance for the invited skaters to glide on Olympic ice, something very dear to their heart.

Seung-Hoon Lee (KOR) gave the home crowd their long awaited first gold medal in Speed Skating at PyeongChang 2018 on the final day at the Gangneung Oval. The 29-year-old Korean won the maiden Olympic men’s Mass Start ahead of Bart Swings (BEL) and Koen Verweij (NED).

Nana Takagi (JPN) won the first ever gold medal in the ladies’ Mass Start event on the final night of Olympic Speed Skating events at the Gangneung Oval. The 25-year-old Japanese thus seized her second gold medal at PyeongChang 2018, after having already collected the Team Pursuit title a few days before. World champion and home favorite Bo-Reum Kim (KOR) sprinted to silver, just ahead of Irene Schouten (NED), who took the bronze.

Mass Start makes its Olympic debut on the final day of the Speed Skating competitions at the Gangneung Oval on Saturday. Whereas all the other events in Speed Skating have a time trial format, the Mass Start is a pack race over 16 laps. The first skater to the line wins. “It’s different”, said Annouk van der Weijden (NED). “It skating with the head more than skating with the legs.”

European Champion Alina Zagitova (OAR) edged teammate and two-time World Champion Evgenia Medvedeva (OAR) to claim the Olympic gold medal at Gangneung Ice Arena on Friday. World silver medalist Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada earned the bronze in what was a very competitive event.

Kjeld Nuis (NED) won the men’s 1500m and Håvard Holmefjord Lorentzen (NOR) took gold in the 500m, which makes them both favorites for the 1000m at the Gangneung Olympic Oval on Friday. But there are more men aiming at the top spot, such as Nuis’ countrymen Kai Verbij and Koen Verweij, Finland’s Mika Poutala, and German Nico Ihle.

The PyeongChang 2018 Short Track competitions ended with Hungary writing history in the men’s 5000m Relay event at Gangneung Ice Arena on Thursday night. Viktor Knoch, Csaba Burjan and brothers Shaoang and Shaolin Sandor Lui (HUN) won their country’s first ever gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games. China took silver and Canada seized the bronze medal. 

It went fast and faster in the men’s 500m on the last day of Short Track at the Gangneung Ice Arena on Thursday night. Dajing Wu (CHN) won the Final A in a new world record time of 39.59. He seized China’s first gold medal at PyeongChang 2018. Korea took silver and bronze with Daeheon Hwang and Hyojun Lim. Samuel Girard (CAN), who had won the men’s 1000m gold last Saturday, finished fourth. All four men in the final finished in sub-40 second times.