Australian Ice Racing and the Korean Skating Union have signed a landmark agreement that will see the two nations work together to share short track speed skating skills and expertise.
Australia has a proud history in short track speed skating. At Lillehammer 1994, Australia won its first Winter Olympic medal with a bronze in the 5000m relay. In 2002 in Salt Lake City, Steve Bradbury won Australia’s first Winter Olympic gold medal.
Since short track speed skating was introduced to the Winter Olympics in 1992, the Republic of Korea has been the dominating force, winning a total of 42 medals (21 gold, 12 silver, 9 bronze).
Korea picked up five medals, including two gold, at the most recent Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Going back they also secured eight medals (two gold) at Vancouver 2010 and 11 medals (six gold) at Torino 2006.
Last year at the Sochi Games, Australian teenager Deanna Lockett showed her potential when she was placed ninth in the 1000m. Lockett rounded out her breakthrough year in senior short track by grabbing two fifth places at the World Cup in Seoul, Korea in December 2014. At the same event, Lockett’s Olympic teammate Pierre Boda had a breakthrough result finishing 13th in the 1000m and setting a new Australian record in his quarter-final race, clocking a very impressive one minute 26.053 seconds.
The future of Australian short track speed skating is strong, and with a new head coach Anthony Barthell leading the way, there has never been a better time for the sport to capitalise on opportunities for improvement.
For Korea who has numerous successful short track speed skating athletes, and with the upcoming 2018 Games on home soil in PyeongChang, the nation is looking outside its own borders for benefits from the program.
The objective of the agreement is to provide the best possible opportunities for both organisations to share knowledge and establish a collaborative, productive and beneficial relationship.
It will provide a pathway for athletes to move into high performance and provide sport program opportunities for athletes to maximise their development to achieve at the highest possible international level.
As part of the agreement, the KSU will select one coach to travel to Australia for a year giving them the opportunity to experience the Australian short track programs as well as learn English through structured accredited courses and living in a homestay environment with English speaking families.
The KSU will assist in the delivery of the AIR’s Sports Development Program, which aims to identify and develop athletes for the high performance program run by the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia (OWIA). The OWIA and AIR share a high performance vision, aligned with the Australian Sports Commission’s ‘Winning Edge’ strategy. The Australian Sports Commission is the principal sponsor of the AIR. The vision is for Australian athletes to be able to achieve podium results at benchmark events such as the Olympic Winter Games, World Championships and World Cup events.
The agreement is for an initial one-year period to be reviewed in April 2016 for future years.
“We are thrilled with the agreement with the Korean Skating Union and we are excited for the potential benefits for both programs,” AIR President Frank Anderson said.
“Korea is a leading nation in short track speed skating and our athletes will benefit greatly from their experience. In turn, we have a strong and growing program here in Australia and look forward to welcoming the KSU into our fold and strengthening both our programs.”
Australian Ice Racing
