SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATING: The nation’s top male short track speed skaters will fight it out for a single spot on the Australian Olympic Team for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games this week at the O’Brian Group Arena in Docklands, Melbourne.
Australia has qualified one male and one female short tracker for the PyeongChang with each set to compete in two distances.
Deanna Lockett is in a class of her own as the only female Australian skater to achieve the World Cup qualifying standard. She went on to finish seventh and 19th in the 1500m and 1000m respective 2017/18 world rankings, and is therefore waiting on her nomination to the Australian Olympic Committee for her second Games appearance.
However the male short track spot on the Australian Winter Olympic Team will be hotly contested with Andy Jung, Pierre Boda, Keanu Blunden and Liam O’Brian going head-to-head for the chance to wear the green and gold in the 500m and 1500m events in South Korea next year.
National coach Lachlan Hay says the team are feeling comefortable, but it's "always a strange feeling when you know what’s ahead, especially what’s at stake."
"It’s a hard thing knowing that you have to race your teammates," Hay said.
"On one hand they respect each other and on the other they know it’s only one going to the Games."
"I've been in the exact same situation before and it is a hard thing to remove yourself from knowing you have to beat your friends," he said.
Sochi Olympian Boda is the most experienced of the group, having placed 30th at his debut Games in 2014, and will be looking to improve on that result if he qualifies for a second Games this week.
Jung narrowly missed out on a debut Games at Sochi, losing to his good mate Boda in the third and final race-off at the selection trials in 2013.
With his top-20 world ranking in the 500m which secured Australia a place on the start line at the Gangneung Ice Arena, and a 1500m personal best performance in Budapest in September, Jung is more determined than ever to not let his Olympic dream slip through his grasp for the second time.
Young guns Blunden and O’Brian were still fairly new faces on the World Cup circuit this year, but saw strong improvements in their speed and skills as they gained more exposure during the season.
With a 500m personal best time set at the Shanghai World Cup in November, Blunden finished only one place (52) behind Boda (51) in the 500m World Rankings, and only two places behind him in the 1500m with a ranking of 51; ensuring the match up at the selection trials is sure to be a close one.
The Olympic selection trials will be held Wednesday and Thursday morning, in conjunction with the 2018 Senior World Championships trials, where there are two Aussie spots up for grabs, and the 2018 Junior World Championship trials, where there is one male individual position and one male relay spot on offer.
Following the Olympic selection and World Cup selection events, Friday will see the start of the 2017 Australian Open Short Track Speed Skating Championships, which will be live streamed HERE.
Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au
