Short track skating consists of individual and relay competitions. At the Olympics, there are eight events. Men and women compete in 500m, 1000m, and 1500m. There is a 5000m relay for men, and a 3000m relay for women.

In the individual event, four skaters start together on the same line. They race head-to-head in an oval. Seven rubber blocks in each turn mark the course. Skaters may cross into the infield ice, but they must always skate around the blocks in the corners. They may touch the ice inside the blocks with their hands. Passing must be done without body contact. Pushing, bumping and blocking may be grounds for disqualification.

Skaters are racing against each other, not against the clock. The first two finishers advance to the next round. Individual competitions begin with 32 athletes.

Short Track Relay
Several skaters work as a team in relay races. One skater must finish two laps. Team members may trade off at any time in any order, as long as the skaters complete the relay touch-off.

The men’s and women’s short track relays are two-day competitions consisting of a semi-final and a final. Eight teams are divided into two heats of four. The top two teams in each semi-final advance to the final.

Well, obviously speedskating is a skating race. (Some things are pretty self-explanatory.) The first known speedskating competition took place in 1676, the first world championships in 1889. Speedskating has been a part of the modern Olympics since the very first Winter Olympics, although women weren’t added to the program until 1960.

Speed skating at the Olympic Games consists of ten events: 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 5000m for both woman and men, 3000m for women, 10,000m for men, and Team pursuit for women and men. With the exception of the 500m, which is raced twice, all events are raced once. Skaters race in pairs against the clock.

Team pursuit is new to the Olympics. In this event, three skaters work as a team. The time that counts for the team is the time for the third person on the team crossing the line. The lead position is traded among the different skaters.

Short track speed skating is actually a completely different event. I’ll be talking more about it in an upcoming post.

Visit the official Olympic site to learn more.

Apolo Ohno became a household name during the 2002 Olympics. Chad Hedrick is set to be a household name for the 2006 Turin Olympics. Will he be the next Eric Heiden? (In case you don’t know who Eric Heiden is he set a record 26 years ago by winning five gold medals in one Olympics. Incidentally, Heiden will be on hand if his record is tied, as he is one of the team doctors.)

All six U.S. long track medalists from the 2002 Olympics are set to compete in Turin, many of them expected to medal again. With Hedrick competing in long track, that’s one more opportunity for medals.

Shani Davis is another name to watch for. Until Chad Hedrick came on the scene, he was the one to beat. Now, their rivalry will be an exciting one to watch, and one that may bring gold and silver finishes for the U.S. in several of the events.

And, yes, Apolo will be back skating for gold, as well.

On the women’s side, Jennifer Rodriguez and Chris Witty are veterans who already have won Olympic medals. Each qualified in three events – 500, 1,000 and 1,500. Look for them to be strong contenders for medals.

I’m not sure I fully understand the new speed skating event slated for the Turin Olympics. Called “Team Pursuit”, it involves three skaters working as a team. The time that counts for the team is the time for the third person on the team crossing the line. The lead position is traded among the different skaters. It seems interesting, and I am looking forward to watching it. If nothing else, it should be a wild card when it comes to who wins since no one has really competed in this event before.

Earlier this week Derek Parra emotionally announced to the skaters preparing for the Olympic trials the reason he’s been distracted recently. He’s getting a divorce. Some people remember his wife and newborn baby from the Salt Lake City Olympics. That was a happier time. Parra explained that recently he hasn’t been sleeping, has been having difficulty concentrating, and is overwhelmed by sadness. Apparently, in this case, confession is not only good for the soul, but for his skating times as well.

On Friday Parra qualified to compete in Turin in the 1500 meter race. In an interview earlier this week, Parra said that if he qualified for the Olympics he would briefly go home and pack his things. We wish him and his family all the best during this difficult time.

Chad Hedrick has qualified to skate in five events in the Turin Olympics.

In the process of qualifying, Hedrick set a world record in the 10,000 meters. His time of 12 minutes, 55.11 seconds beat the old record by nearly 3 seconds. In that race, Hedrick won by nearly a minute over second-place Charles Leveille.

Hedrick has qualified for the Olympics in the 1,000, 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000. He also is expected to compete in team pursuit, a new event.

Hedrick is one of those interesting Olympic stories. He’s a former inline skating champion who only switched to skating on the ice in 2002.

I had never heard of Chad Hedrick until recently, but he’s now a favorite of mine. He’s from Spring, Texas, which is only about 20 minutes from where I live. Got to love a hometown boy in the Olympics!

One of my favorite things about the Olympics are the Awww stories. You know the ones I’m talking about. Those stories about the underdog, the heroic stories, the sob stories. Dan Jansen. The 1980 U.S. hockey team. The Jamaican bobsled team.

Well, this story has the potential to be one of those tales. When it comes to Olympics, the name Bart Conner is familiar. But less familiar is Bruce Conner, Bart’s brother. He barely missed making the Olympic speed skating team once before— in 1976. Now, at 49, he’s trying again. I hope he makes the team this time. It would be one of those great Olympic stories, even if he doesn’t win a medal.

Australia has finalized their short track speed skating team for the Torino Olympics, while Canada plans to announce their final team by January 4th. Japan is also finalizing its choices.

The competition to skate at the Olympics is fierce before you even get to the games. Only eight teams compete in the short track relay. Canada will only send 10 men and 10 women to compete in long track speed skating.