Overview

Short Track Skating is a chaotic sport with skaters continually jostling for position. Races take place around an oval track (measuring around 111.12m) designed to fit inside an average ice rink. The odd clash and tumble are inevitable so the walls are heavily padded.

The sport was officially introduced to the Olympic program at the Albertville Games in 1992. At Beijing 2022 there are five competition formats; 500m, 1000m, 1500m, relay and mixed team relay.

Australia has a great record in this sport. At Lillehammer 1994, Australia won its first Winter Olympic medal with bronze in the men’s relay. The quartet of Richard Nizielski, Steven Bradbury, Andrew Murtha and Kieran Hansen made history when they finished behind Italy and the United States in the final.

In 2002 at Salt Lake City, Steven Bradbury was at his fourth Games and won Australia’s first Winter Olympic gold medal. In the men’s 1000m event the Queenslander took advantage of favourable circumstances. In the quarter-finals and semi-finals two competitors fell and the third was disqualified - allowing him to sneak through to the final.

In the final, Steven dropped behind early and trailed the rest of the field by almost half a lap as they entered the last turn. A massive collision sent the other four finalists flying. As the only skater left standing, Steven crossed the finish line first and was awarded the gold medal.

Short Track Skating will be held on Saturday 5 February, Monday 7 Feb, Wednesday 9 Feb, Friday 11 Feb, Sunday 13 Feb and Wednesday 16 Feb. Australia’s Brendan Corey starts the men’s 1000m qualifying on the first day of competition, Saturday 5 Feb, and begins the men’s 1500m qualifying on Wednesday 9 Feb.

What’s the story?

• Canadian-born Australian Brendan Corey is Australia’s sole representative in Short Track Skating at Beijing 2022.
• Over the last two Winter Olympics (Sochi 2014, PyeongChang 2018), no skater has been able to successfully defend their title, except for the Republic of Korea's women's relay team.
• The competition will be held at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, which also hosted the Volleyball at Beijing 2008.

Ones to watch

The Aussie

Brendan Corey is coming off an impressive first season competing in the World Cup, finishing the season ranked 11th in the world over 1000m. Beijing 2022 will be the 24-year-old’s Olympic debut.

In November 2021 Brendan reached his first World Cup A-final with a top-five performance at the meet in Dordrech, Netherlands.

The competition

Arianna Fontana (ITA), the greatest women's short track skater in Olympic history, requires one more medal to be the outright most successful Olympian in short track history. At PyeongChang 2018 she won gold in the women’s 500m, silver in the women’s relay, bronze in the women’s 1000m and missed out in the women’s 1500m.

Shaolin Sandor (HUN) is a big threat to Brendan Corey in the men's 1000m, who won the silver medal at the 2021 World Championships.

Wu Dajing (CHN) enters as the 2018 men’s 500m Olympic champion and world record holder and won silver with his Chinese teammates in the men’s relay at PyeongChang 2018. He is a strong favourite to retain his title.

Choi Min-Jeong (KOR) is a two-time winner of the women's 1500m at the Olympics and is the current 500m Olympic record holder.

The world will be watching on in anticipation for the Republic of Korea's women's relay team to potentially achieve a three-peat in the event.

Competition format

500m and 1000m

These events consist of a qualifying round, a quarter-final round, a semi-final round and two Final rounds (A and B).

There are eight qualifying races of four skaters each. The top two skaters from each race advance to the quarter-finals.

There are four quarter-final races of four skaters each. The top two skaters from each race advance to the semi-final. There are two semi-final races of four skaters each. The first and second placed skaters from each race advance to final A. The third and fourth placed skaters advance to final B. There is one race of four skaters for final A and it determines placings first through fourth. There is one race of four skaters for final B and it determines placings fifth through eighth.

1500m

This event consists of a quarter-final round, a semi-final round, and two final rounds (A and B).

There are six quarter-final races of six skaters each. The top three skaters from each race advance to the semi-final.

There are three semi-final races of six skaters each. The first and second placed skaters from each race advance to final A. The third and fourth placed skaters advance to final B. There is one race of six skaters for final A. The results of this race determines placings first through sixth. There is one race of six skaters for final B. The results of this race determine places seventh through 12th.

Relay

The women's relay is held over 3000m and the men's relay 5000m.

The relay event consists of a semi-final round and two final rounds (A and B). Each team is composed of four skaters. For each race, a skater may be relayed at any time except during the last two laps of the race. The last two laps must be completed by one skater only, except in the case of a fall.

There are two semi-final races with four teams of four skaters each. The first and second placed teams from each race advance to final A. The third and fourth placed teams advance to final B. There is one race of four teams for final A. The results of this race determine places first through fourth. There is one race of four teams for final B. The results of this race determine places fifth through eighth.

Mixed Team Relay

The mixed team relay event consists of a quarter-final round, a semi-final round and two final rounds (A and B). For each race, the teams are composed of four skaters with two men and two women.

There are three quarter-final races with four teams. The first and second placed teams from each race and a maximum of two fastest third place teams qualify for the semi-finals. There are two semi-final races with four teams. The first and second placed teams from each race advance to final A. The third and fourth placed teams advance to final B. The final A race determines placings first through fourth. The final B race determines placings fifth through eighth.