ISU

As the second ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating weekend of the 2019/20 season concluded in Montreal, a little-known young skater from the Philippines stayed behind to train with the host nation’s celebrated team, including three-time Olympic champion Charles Hamelin. Julian Macaraeg became, in January, the first athlete from his nation to qualify for the Lausanne 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games following a strong performance at the ISU Junior World Short Track Speed Skating Championships.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed everything – and summer training for Short Track Speed Skating is no exception. Getting on the ice for some laps is out. Going to gyms and national training centers has stopped. And there’s been no chance of cycling in groups. Our athletes, however, have improvised and overcome. They know that an effective summer can lead to a glorious winter – so they’ve been staying active in any way they can, and sharing the results on Instagram.

Lara van Ruijven, Short Track Speed Skater from the Netherlands, who tragically passed away last week aged 27, was one of her country’s brightest sporting talents.

Following the announcement from the General Administration of Sport of China last week, the ISU received clarification through its Chinese counterparts regarding the ISU Events scheduled to be held in China in 2020.

The ISU learned of the tragic news that Lara van Ruijven, the Dutch Short Track Speed Skating World Champion, passed away on July 10, 2020.

An Kai remembers the moment he first walked into the towering Bird’s Nest stadium during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. An was just 12 at the time, and the local roller skating team he competed for in his home town of Jinan, Shandong province, in eastern China, had organized a trip to watch the opening ceremony.

Some amazing moments were captured during the ISU Short Track Speed Skating season. Take a look at them in motion with a short compilation. 

In Speed Skating the athletes were lucky enough to finish the 2019/20 season before the entire sporting world came to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their Short Track Speed Skating colleagues were less fortunate, as the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2020 in Seoul had to be cancelled. However, it didn't stop top athletes from training, but just in a different way. The “Keep Training!” series launched in April turned out to be a huge success. Some of the best coaches, champions and specialists in sports psychology and mental performance provided free online training for athletes and coaches to prepare. Thousands of viewers followed the live training sessions.

In Celebration of Olympic Day, on June 23, 2020, people from around the world came together to Keep Training. Olympians led the way and among them, were six Olympic Figure Skaters and two Short Track and Speed Skaters. Aljona Savchenko and Deniss Vasiljevs, Ondrej Hotarek and Nicole Della Monica as well as Kana Muramoto and Daisuke Takahashi teamed up to provide some great sessions on @ISUFigureSkating. In the Speed Skating and Short Track Speed Skating department, Anice Das and Olivier Jean took on the challenge on @ISUSpeedSkating.

Considering that some ice rinks are re-opening and Skaters are hitting the ice again, the ISU CoE Keep Training! Series will be holding the last Speed Skating and Short Track Speed Skating Keep Training! sessions, for the foreseeable future, this weekend on June 27 and June 28, 2020.

Following its Keep Training Series, as part of its #UpAgain Campaign, the International Skating Union (ISU) is joining the International Olympic Committee for Olympic Day 2020, that will see Olympians, athletes and fans all over the globe get active in the world’s largest 24-hour digital Olympic workout. Twenty-three Olympic athletes have already joined the recording of an official Olympic Day workout video, and on Olympic Day, athletes from around the world will lead live workouts at 11 a.m. local time across 20 time zones. The ISU will participate with 6 workouts throughout the day on @ISUFigureSkating and @ISUSpeedSkating Instagram Live.

The ISU fully respects all those, especially in the skating community, who have spoken out against racism, brutality, oppression, or any other form of prejudice. Such behaviors and attitudes have no place in our society.

Some of our favourite athletes have been sharing some insightful and useful #UpAgain recommendations, whether it is their favorite TV shows, books, recipes, workout tips and more. Here are the last #UpAgain Recommendations that we have in store for you. 

The ISU Centers of Excellence (CoE) are pleased to announce that the “Keep Training!” series for Short Track and Speed Skaters continues with new courses this weekend on June 13 and 14, 2020 on Skating ISU YouTube Channel.

A year can be a long time in sport, and – in the case of Deanna Lockett – time enough to assume an entirely new nationality.