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#ShortTrackSkating

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The new Short Track Speed Skating season gets under way this month, with the first of six ISU World Cup events taking place in Montreal, Canada, from 28-30 October, 2022.

The events promise to be more thrilling than ever, with a glittering new prize – the ISU World Cup Short Track Crystal Globe Trophy – up for grabs at the end of the season. The male and female racers with with the best cumulative results across all individual distances will obtain a Combined Season Ranking and be crowned as Season Champions. The winners will be awarded with a Crystal Globe Trophy.

Six events will count towards the new title. Action kicks off on the super-fast ice of Montreal (CAN), which hosted last season’s ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, having also previously staged them in 1987, 2002, 2014 and 2018.

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Pascal Dion (CAN) celebrates after winning the 3000m super final at the 2022 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Montreal, Canada. © ISU

The World Cup then moves to Salt Lake City (USA) from 4-6 November 2022, before a double-header of action in Almaty (KAZ) on 9-11 and 16-18 December, 2022.

The concluding two ISU World Cups take place in Europe: first, in Dresden (GER) (3-5 February 2022) followed b Dordrecht (NED) (10-12 February 2022) where the Season Champions will be crowned.

 

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Skaters start in the Men's 1000m semi final during the 2021 ISU World Cup Short Track in Dordrecht, Netherlands.© ISU

There are other titles up for grabs this season too: the ISU Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships will be staged in Salt Lake City (USA) from 10-12 November 2022, while the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships take place in Gdansk (POL) from 13-15 January 2023. The Junior Skaters will then have their moment to shine at the ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Dresden (GER) from 27-29 January 2023.

The season concludes with the big one: the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in one of the hotbeds of Short Track. Seoul (KOR) will host the showpiece event from 10-12 March 2023.

Who will win the Crystal Globes?

Predicting the winners of the first ever Women’s and Men’s Crystal Globes is tough. With a new Olympic season on the horizon, fans are to expect new names to make their appearance on the ice, while others will take advantage of recent retirements or the absence of big names to try to make their breakthrough season.

Overview of the Women contenders  

As in recent years, in the Women’s field, Suzanne Schulting (NED) and Choi Min Jeong (KOR) will be the leading contenders. Both Skaters enjoyed impressive Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, each retaining the individual title they won in 2018 – Schulting claiming the 1000m gold and Choi the 1500m respectively.

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Suzanne Schulting (NED) and Choi Min-jeong (KOR) compete in the final A of the women's 1000m short track speed skating event during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China..© AFP

The 25-year-old Schulting was also on the Netherlands team which took the Olympic 3000m Relay title in Beijing this year, while Choi Min Jeong who is 24, went on to add her fourth overall ISU World Championship title in Montreal (CAN). Kristen Santos-Griswold (USA) will push the big two hard for honors.

Canada Skaters will look to start the season with a bang, too: Kim Boutin and Courtney Sarault will both be Crystal Globe contenders, while talents including Florence Brunelle should shine.

Kim Boutin  Courtney Sarault Short Track Speed Skating Beijing 2022 OWG©AFP 1238528146

Canada's Kim Boutin and Courtney Sarault (CAN) compete in the final B of the women's 1500m short track speed skating event during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China. © AFP

Upcoming Dutch speedster Xandra Velzeboer will compete alongside sibling Michelle Velzeboer and might become a force to reckon with.

Overview of the Men contenders

In the Men’s field, the betting is wide open. Perhaps Hungarian brothers Shaoang and Shaolin Sandor Liu will be narrow favorites: Shaoang has won the last two overall ISU World Championships, and he grabbed gold in the 500m at the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games.

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Shaolin Sandor Liu and Shaoang Liu (HUN) celebrates after winning first and secnd place in Men`s 500m final race during the 2021 ISU World Cup Short Track in Debrecen, Hungary.  © ISU

Yet Canada’s Pascal Dion and a strong Republic of Korea contingent featuring Park Ji Won and Lee June Seo will probably have a say in proceedings too.

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Ji Won Park (KOR) leads and wins the Mens 1000m Final during the 2020 ISU World Cup Short Track in Dordrecht, Netherlands. © Getty

There are also multiple male racers capable of getting on the podium across the season, including Jordan Pierre-Gilles (CAN), Itzhak De Laat (NED) and Steven Dubois (CAN).

Overall, it should be the usual thrills and spills – with a shinier prize than ever at the end: the Crystal Globe, handed out in Dordrecht at a special ceremony on 12 February 2023. Bring it on.