short-track speedskating – Duresport.com

Sochi recap: Short-track speedskating, women’s relay

South Korea won a thriller ahead of China, and then it didn’t really matter because China was disqualified anyway. That’s short track. In the early heats of two individual events, two Canadian favorites unfortunately crashed out, but the Canadian women took silver in the relay.

Date: 18-Feb

Sport: Short-track speedskating

Event: Women’s relay, plus the first round of heats in the men’s 500 and women’s 1,000.

Medalists: South Korea, Canada, Italy

SportsMyriad projections: China, South Korea, Canada

How U.S. fared: Didn’t qualify to bring a team to Sochi.

Jessica Smith and Emily Scott advanced in the women’s 1,000, the latter by 0.014 seconds.

Eddy Alvarez’s hard-luck Olympics continued as he wiped out in the men’s 500. Jordan Malone had enough of a slip to finish a distant fourth in his heat. But J.R. Celski advanced comfortably.

What happened: Italy faded off the pace about a third of the way into the race. Canada dropped away a bit as well but came back quickly.

But this race was always China vs. South Korea, and they traded the lead back and forth as they pulled away from Canada with six laps to go. China took the lead, but South Korea’s Suk Hee Shim made a thrilling pass on the outside to take the win. Canada came across in third.

But wait! The referees huddled, and China was disqualified. Canada moved up to silver, and Italy — left behind in the race — took bronze.

Technically, Russia finished fourth, having won the B final ahead of Japan and Hungary.

In the women’s 1,000 meters, two Canadians had dramatically different fates. Valerie Maltais set an Olympic record at 1:28.771. Marianne St. Gelais crashed out. St. Gelais also took out Dutch skater Jorien ter Mors, who already has a gold medal in long-track skating and a fourth-place finish in short-track in these Games, but the referees advanced her Mors to the next round.

Britain’s Elise Christie, disqualified at different stages of her two events so far (much to the British media’s consternation, though the replays in each case were quite clear), took no chances in her heat, racing away to win by more than two seconds.

All three South Korean skaters won their heats. Two of three Chinese skaters advanced; Liu Qiuhong was disqualified. And Italian favorite Arianna Fontana won her heat to join the party.

In the men’s 500 meters, the shocker was Canada’s Charles Hamelin, leading by several feet in his heat and simply slipping off into the padding on a curve. He was the only favorite not to advance. The defending champion’s Olympics are done — he took gold in the 1,500 but had incidents that took him out of the 1,000, the relay and now the 500.

Full results: Relay, men’s 500, women’s 1,000

Sochi recap: Short-track, men’s 1,000 meters

That’s Olympic short-track. Another good day to toss out that phrase, with two favorites down in the quarterfinals. And do you think South Korea regrets keeping Hyun-Soo Ahn out of the 2010 Olympics and letting him slip away to Russia as Viktor Ahn?

Date: 15-Feb

Sport: Short-track speedskating

Event: Men’s 1,000 meters

Medalists: Viktor Ahn (Russia), Vladimir Gregorev (Russia), Sjinkie Knegt (Netherlands)

SportsMyriad projections: Charles Hamelin (Canada), Viktor Ahn (Russia), J.R. Celski (USA)

How U.S. fared: All three went out in the quarterfinals. Chris Creveling was just a hair slower than the top two in his race.

J.R. Celski simply tripped over one of the little markers in the turns. He skidded into the padding and didn’t finish the race.

Eddy Alvarez was unlucky. Canadian favorite Charles Hamelin fell just in front of him. Alvarez had no chance to avoid Hamelin, and they went together into the pads. The judges, though, saw no reason to advance Alvarez to the semifinals.

What happened: Utter carnage in the quarterfinals, with favorites Hamelin and Celski out along with all the other North Americans and most of the Western Europeans. The semifinals wound up with two South Koreans, two Chinese skaters and three Russians. The Netherlands’ Sjinkie Knegt was the outsider.

First semifinal: The two Korean skaters settled to the back for the first couple of laps. Han-Bin Lee tried to pass in a corner but barged into Knegt. Lee drifted to the outside and let the contenders lap him, as if expecting the DQ. Russia’s Vladimir Gregorev and South Korea’s Da Woon Sin easily advanced, and Knegt was sent through to the final on Lee’s DQ.

Second semifinal: The two Russians settled in behind the two Chinese skaters. Wu Dajing kept taking a wide turn. With two laps to go, the Russians pounced and got ahead of Han Tianyu. Then Viktor Ahn got ahead of Wu, but Elistratov was unable to make it a three-Russian final.

So we still had a powerhouse final with half of the 2013 World Championship final — Sin and Knegt but not Hamelin and Celski. And Grigorev had been a semifinalist in that event. Ahn was second in the 2013-14 World Cup season, and he just happened to win this event while competing for South Korea in 2006. Wu also had a strong resume.

The B final — always important because the winner can grab a medal if a couple of skaters are disqualified from the A final — had just two skaters thanks to Knegt’s advancement and Lee’s penalty.

Then the big moment, and the two Russians just took control. Ahn and Grigorev weren’t seriously challenged and finished 1-2. Knegt passed the surprisingly lethargic Sin for bronze. Sin was later penalized and dropped to fifth, with Wu a close fourth behind Knegt.

(BTW, we’re still saying “Ahn” rather than “An” until we get an actual explanation as to why the “h” should be dropped. Changing from “Hyun-Soo” to “Viktor” when changing countries makes sense, but why one letter of the last name? Translation from Korean to Russian and then English?)

Full results

2014 medal projections: Short-track speedskating

Updated Jan. 21 with Wang Meng injury

Short-track is a little less about times and more about who makes the last pass and remains upright. World Championships actually compile “overall” results that reward consistency. No such luck in the Olympics, so these predictions are bound to go wrong somewhere. We predictors can’t take it personally.

The action is often controversial, with a lot of collisions and interference requiring refs to figure things out. And for the USA, it has been controversial off the ice.

The World Cup runs in the fall, so as with long-track skating, we have a lot of recent data to use.

Around we go, very quickly …

MEN

500 meters

Gold: Viktor Ahn (Russia)
Silver: Charles Hamelin (Canada)
Bronze: Wu Dajing (China)

Also considered: Liang Wenhao (China), Seyeong Park (South Korea), Freek van der Wart (Netherlands)

World Cup 2013-14 top 8: Ahn, Hamelin, Vladimir Gregorev (Russia), Wu, Olivier Jean (Canada), Park, van der Wart, Liang

2013 World Championship top 4: Liang, Ahn, van der Wart, Semion Elistratov (Russia). Semifinalists: Jin-Kyu Noh (South Korea), Wu, Viktor Knoch (Hungary), J.R. Celski (USA), Jon Eley (Britain)

2010 Olympic medalists: Hamelin, Si-Bak Sung (South Korea), Francois-Louis Tremblay (Canada)

1,000 meters

Gold: Charles Hamelin (Canada)
Silver: Viktor Ahn (Russia)
Bronze: J.R. Celski (USA)

Also considered: Wu Dajing (China), Da-Woon Sin (South Korea)

World Cup 2013-14 top 8: Hamelin, Ahn, Niels Kerstholt (Netherlands), Wu Dajing (China), Han Tianyu (China), Olivier Jean (Canada), Celski, Han-Bin Lee (South Korea)

2013 World Championship top 4: Sin, Sjinkie Knegt (Netherlands), Hamelin, Celski. Semifinalists: Ahn, Yuzo Takamido (Japan), Jin-Kyu Noh (South Korea), Michael Gilday (Canada), Semion Elistratov (Russia), Vladimir Grigorev (Russia)

2010 Olympic medalists: Jung-Su Lee (South Korea), So-Huk Lee (South Korea), Apolo Ohno (USA)

1,500 meters

Gold: Da-Woon Sin (South Korea)
Silver: Yun-Jae Kim (South Korea)
Bronze: Charles Hamelin (Canada)

Also considered: Viktor Ahn (Russia), J.R. Celski (USA), anyone else from South Korea

World Cup 2013-14 top 8: Hamelin, Han-Bin Lee (South Korea), Ahn, Jin-Kyu Noh (South Korea), Sjinkie Knegt (Netherlands), Francois Hamelin (Canada), Celski, Sin

2013 World Championship top 6: Sin, Yun-Jae Kim (South Korea), Hamelin, Ryosuke Sakazume (Japan), Michael Gilday (Canada), Noh

2010 Olympic medalists: Jung-Su Lee (South Korea), Apolo Ohno (USA), J.R. Celski (USA)

Relay

Gold: Canada
Silver: Russia
Bronze: South Korea

Also considered: Netherlands, USA

Also qualified: China, Kazakhstan, Italy

World Cup 2013-14 top 8: USA, Canada, Russia, South Korea, Netherlands, China, Italy, Britain

2013 World Championship top 4: Canada, Russia, Netherlands, South Korea

2010 Olympic medalists: Canada, South Korea, USA

WOMEN

500 meters

Gold: Fan Kexin (China)
Silver: Seung-Hi Park (South Korea)
Bronze: Arianna Fontana (Italy)

Also considered: Marianne St. Gelais (Canada), Suk Hee Shim (South Korea), Martina Valcepina (Italy). Removed for injury: Wang Meng (China)

World Cup 2013-14 top 8: Wang, Fan, Fontana, Park, Shim, Valcepina, St. Gelais, Liu Qiuhong (China)

2013 World Championship top 4: Wang, Fan, Park, St. Gelais. Semifinalists: Valcepina, Valerie Maltais (Canada), Fontana, Elise Christie (Britain)

2010 Olympic medalists: Wang, St. Gelais, Fontana

1,000 meters

Gold: Suk Hee Shim (South Korea)
Silver: A-Lang Kim (South Korea)
Bronze: Arianna Fontana (Italy)

Also considered: Seung-Hi Park (South Korea), Jorien ter Mors (Netherlands), Wang Meng (China)

World Cup 2013-14 top 8: Shim, Kim, Fontana, Park, Li Jianrou (China), Elise Christie (Britain), Valerie Maltais (Canada), ter Mors

2013 World Championship top 5: Wang, ter Mors, Christie, Fan Kexin (China), Zhou Yang (China). Semifinalists: Yui Sakai (Japan), Shim, Bernadett Heidum (Hungary), Fan Kexin (China), Park

2010 Olympic medalists: Wang, Katherine Reutter (USA), Park

1,500 meters

Gold: Suk Hee Shim (South Korea)
Silver: Seung-Hi Park (South Korea)
Bronze: Marianne St. Gelais (Canada)

Also considered: A-Lang Kim (South Korea), Valerie Maltais (Canada), Zhou Yang (China)

World Cup 2013-14 top 8: Shim, Kim, Zhou, Maltais, Park, Arianna Fontana (Italy), Jorien ter Mors (Netherlands), Bernadett Heidum (Hungary)

2013 World Championship top 7: Park, Shim, St. Gelais, Ayuko Ito (Japan), Maltais, Elise Christie (Britain), Zhou

2010 Olympic medalists: Zhou, Eun-Byul Lee (South Korea), Park

Relay

Gold: China
Silver: South Korea
Bronze: Canada

Also considered: Italy, Netherlands, Russia

Also qualified: Hungary, Japan

World Cup 2013-14 top 8: South Korea, China, Italy, Canada, Russia, Netherlands, Japan, USA

2013 World Championship top 4: China, Canada, Japan, South Korea

2010 Olympic medalists: China, Canada, USA

BIOS

Men

Viktor Ahn (Russia): Competed for South Korea as Hyun-Soo Ahn. 2006 gold medalist in 1,000 and 1,500. Overall world champion five straight years (2003-2007). Nasty injuries kept him out in 2010. Back in form with silver in 500 at 2013 Worlds and World Cup success at same distance. Typically makes late pass to win.

J.R. Celski (USA): Olympic bronze medalist (2010, 1,500) has had other big performances — second overall in 2009 World Championships at age 18. He also has some solid World Cup performances since then.

Wu Dajing (China): Not yet 20 and already winning World Cup races. Best at 500.

Semion Elistratov (Russia): Had an unusually good World Championship in 2013, making the 500 final and a couple of semifinals. Has one World Cup win and a couple of podiums.

Vladimir Gregorev (Russia): Suddenly breaking onto World Cup podiums after several years of struggle.

Charles Hamelin (Canada): 2010: Won gold in 500, ending a long spell of Olympic frustration after winning a couple of world championships (also at 500) and having tons of podium finishes through his career. Long-term relationship with skater Marianne St. Gelais.

Olivier Jean (Canada): Victim of Simon Cho’s skate-sabotaging at the 2011 World Team Championships. Came back with strong 2012 World Championship — gold in 500, bronze overall. Fourth in 2010 Olympics (1,500).

Yun-Jae Kim (South Korea): 2013 World Championship runner-up (overall and 1,500). Two other World Cup podiums, both at 1,500.

Sjinkie Knegt (Netherlands): Best World Championship finish was second in 2012 (1,000). Overall European champion in 2012. Four World Cup podiums.

Jin-Kyu Noh (South Korea): 2011 overall world champion (at age 18), winning 1,000 and 1,500. Second in 2012 overall, winning 1,500. Not as strong in 2013 World Championships but had some good results in the next World Cup season.

Seyeong Park (South Korea): 2013 world junior champion. Reached podium in two World Cup races in Seoul (500 and 1,000).

Da-Woon Sin (South Korea): 2013 overall world champion (at age 19), winning 1,000 and 1,500. World Cup podiums are all at 1,500.

Han Tianyu (China): 2013 world junior runner-up.

Freek van der Wart (Netherlands): Good year in 2013: European overall champion, third in 500 at World Championships. Only one World Cup podium, in 500.

Liang Wenhao (China): Scattered World Championship successes, winning 500 in 2010 and 2013. In 2011: third in 500, 1,000 and overall. Three 2012-13 wins: two at 500, one at 1,000.

Women

Elise Christie (Britain): Races as a front-runner in the 1,000, an unusual tactic in the cagey world of short-track. Last four world championships at 1,000: fourth, fourth, fourth, third.

Arianna Fontana (Italy): Only 15 when she medaled in relay on home ice at 2006 Olympics. Took bronze at 500 in 2010. Overall European champion in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 (second in 2010). Third in World Championships in 2011 and 2012.

Fan Kexin (China): Strongest at 500, with a few World Cup wins and the 2011 and 2012 world championships.

A-Lang Kim (South Korea): Second in 2013 world junior championships. Terrific 2013-14 World Cup season at 1,000 and 1,500.

Valerie Maltais (Canada): Second overall (third in 1,000) at 2012 World Championships. Lone World Cup win is at 1,000.

Wang Meng (China): 2006 Olympics: Gold (500), silver (1,000), bronze (1,500). 2010 Olympics: gold in 500 and 1,000 (plus relay gold). Even better at World Championships: sweep in 2008, 500/1,000/overall in 2009, 500/1,000 in 2010, 500/1,000/overall in 2013. Fan of David Beckham and Michael Jordan. Removed from national team in 2011 after confrontation with coaches but reinstated in 2012.

Seung-Hi Park (South Korea): In 2010: bronze medals at 1,000 and 1,500, overall world championship, turned 18. 2013: world champion in 1,500.

Suk Hee Shim (South Korea): 2012 world junior champion. At 2013 World Championships: second in 1,500, third overall. 2013-14 World Cup winner at 1,000 and 1,500.

Marianne St. Gelais (Canada): Silver medal at 500 and relay in 2010. Also celebrated boyfriend Charles Hamelin’s gold medal. Took third at 1,500 in 2013 World Championships.

Jorien ter Mors (Netherlands): Expected to compete in short-track and long-track. 2013 World Championships: second in 1,000, fifth overall. Has World Cup podiums at 1,000 and 1,500.

Martina Valcepina (Italy): Nine World Cup podiums at 500.

Zhou Yang (China): Gold medalist (1,500) in 2010. Second overall (and in 1,000 and 1,500) in 2008 World Championships. Only recent World Cup podiums are in 1,500.

Monday Myriad: Ligety Ligety Ligety

Let’s rush out this wrapup before the power runs out:

Alpine skiing: The time it takes you to read this sentence is Ted Ligety’s margin of victory (2.75 seconds) in the season-opening World Cup giant slalom on the big glacier in Solden, Austria, the traditional opener of the World Cup season in which fans celebrate the first snows of the Alps, putting away for a moment their concerns about the state of the climate and the European economy, which continues to be plagued by crippling debt in a few countries while Germany, a traditional power in winter sports, ponders the fate of the Euro, which has never been fully supported in some portions of the British aristocracy, which was also concerned that Lindsey Vonn missed a gate and didn’t finish the opening women’s race, along with Julia Mancuso, whose mishap you can read about here.

Figure skating: Spain’s Javier Fernandez upset Canada’s Patrick Chan to win Skate Canada. Depending on your point of view, that’s either an inspiring first Grand Prix win for Spain or signs of trouble with one of Canada’s star athletes. American Ross Miner bounced back after a rough short program to finish fifth.

Better news for Canadian women: Kaetlyn Osmond edged Japan’s Akiko Suzuki by 1.29 points to win. Americans Gracie Gold and Caroline Zhang were seventh and ninth.

The U.S. pairs were the last two. The USA’s Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donahue were fifth in the ice dance, predictably won by Canadian greats Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.

But if you want to look ahead to the Big Ice Dance Throwdown and compare scores, Virtue/Moir won Skate Canada with 169.41; the USA’s Meryl Davis and Charlie White won Skate America with 176.28.

Short-track speedskating: J.R. Celski was second in the 1,500 meters and fourth in the 1,000, and the U.S. men finished third in the relay in an otherwise dreary World Cup weekend for American skaters in Montreal.

Bobsled/luge/skeleton: Wikipedia currently lists 17 current sliding tracks in the world, with two more planned. It’s about to be 16. The Torino 2006 track will be dismantled.

Oh, it was scheduled to host a World Cup luge stop in December? Too bad.

Shooting: Jason Parker won the World Cup Final in men’s three-position.

Beach volleyball: Jen Kessy and April Ross won in Thailand.

Monday Myriad: Skating away on the thin ice of a new day

That’s a Jethro Tull reference. Would you prefer Avril Lavigne? Some skater boys did pretty well over the weekend.

Short-track: A lot of world records fell over the weekend at the World Cup opener in Calgary, and J.R. Celski came up with one of the biggest, breaking the 40-second mark in the 500 meters. Celski also picked up a third-place finish, as did John-Henry Krueger, a discretionary pick for the World Cup squad who must have done some industrial smoothing to finish just behind Celski and Canadian favorite Charles Hamelin in the 500.

Check out the 500-meter final (via DailyHouse):

Canada’s Valerie Maltais took the women’s 1,000-meter record, though the overall World Cup leader at 1,000 is Britain’s Elise Christie.

Not a great weekend for the U.S. women, who finished eighth in the team classification. The men were a solid fourth, well ahead of China, despite finishing eighth in the relay.

Figure skating: Here, the U.S. women had a great weekend. For all my fretting over the “rise up and fade” tendencies they’ve had over the last few years, the results at Skate America speak for themselves: Ashley Wagner first, Christina Gao second. (On the downside, Rachael Flatt was ninth out of 10.)

Meryl Davis and Charlie White won the ice dance so comfortably they probably could’ve tossed in a bit of the Chicken Dance toward the end. Caydee Denney and John Coughlin were a promising third in pairs.

So if you want to panic about anything from a U.S. standpoint, consider the men. Japan swept the podium, Jeremy Abbott was fifth, and the other U.S. men were in the bottom four.

MLS: The playoff field is set, with Columbus and Dallas falling short of the last spots. San Jose has the Supporters’ Shield, but L.A. defender Omar Gonzalez cares not for the Quakes’ style of play, accusing them of some off-the-ball ref-not-looking shenanigans. And Galaxy supporters group Angel City Brigade raises some pointed questions for security at Buck Shaw Stadium.

Women’s soccer: Germany announced its re-emergence, holding the USA to a 1-1 draw on the Fan Tribute Tour at Toyota Park, the former home of the Chicago Red Stars.

Swimming: Missy Franklin is going to Cal. Can’t blame her, but those of use who learned to swim at the University of Georgia may be a little sad to hear the news.

Triathlon: Gwen Jorgensen knows how to finish a season in style — second place in the last World Championships series race, moving her up to ninth on the year. Sarah Groff was ninth on the day, seventh on the year.

The U.S. men had a rougher time, but the USA also came away with several paratriathlon and age-group prizes. If only they had a category for “over-40, can’t stand cold water or running” entries.

Rowing: Want to see a frightening photo? Go to the Head of the Charles’ official site and wait for “Day 2 underway” to come around. Is this rowing or rugby?

Swimming: A lot of Olympic swimmers pass on the World Cup season, particularly after the Olympics, but Anthony Ervin and Jessica Hardy seem to be making up for lost time with a few wins on the circuit this weekend.

Also in the Team USA roundup: Katie Compton’s latest cyclocross medal and the Head of the Charles.

Season preview: Short-track speedskating

From the grace, artistry and predictability of figure skating, we turn to the wild world of short-track speedskating. Figure skating may be in the hands of the judges, but short-track skating is often in the hands of the refs, who have to determine whether skaters false-started, changed their lines, impeded each other or went all-out roller derby on each other. Does anyone envy that job?

Storylines

– New U.S. coaches and a split camp. Some skaters filed a claim of physical and emotional abuse against head coach Jae Su Chun and assistant Jun Hyung Yeo. Others disagreed. But while they may have beaten the rap on the abuse charges, they admitted they knew U.S. skater Simon Cho had tampered with Canadian Olivier Jean’s skates at the 2011 World Team Championships. So the coaches are gone. Are the bad feelings gone as well?

– Not that South Korea ever dominated short-track speedskating quite to the extent that, say, China dominates badminton and table tennis, but going a couple of years without a South Korean woman in the World Championship overall top three is a little surprising.

Events

World Cup
Oct. 19-21: Calgary
Oct. 26-28: Montreal
Nov. 30-Dec. 2: Nagoya, Japan
Dec. 7-9: Shanghai
Feb. 1-3: Sochi, Russia
Feb. 8-10: Dresden, Germany

U.S. Championships
Dec. 20-22: Salt Lake City

World Championships
March 8-10: Debrecen, Hungary

Qualifying

World Cup: The top five overall in the U.S. Single Distance Championships (yes, “overall” and “single distance” are contradictory, but bear with us) qualified for the World Cup teams.

World Championship: Separate qualifying process.

How to watch

The International Skating Union promises some live streaming.

Names to know

With the exception of Apolo Anton Ohno, every U.S. skater from the 2010 Olympics is still active. Could Ohno come back again?

Women

– Lana Gehring (USA): Bronze medalist (500m) at 2012 World Championships in addition to relay silver. On 2010 Olympic bronze-medal relay team. Good 2011-12 World Cup season: 3rd in 1,500m, 4th in 1,000m — won both distances at February meet in the Netherlands. Co-wrote statement in support of Chun.

– Jessica Smith (USA): U.S. overall champion. 2012 Worlds relay silver medalist. Stuck with inline skating into her mid-20s and switched to the ice in time to be a 2010 Olympic alternate. Co-wrote statement in support of Chun.

– Alyson Dudek (USA): On 2010 Olympic bronze-medal relay team. One of Chun’s accusers.

– Emily Scott (USA): 2012 Worlds relay silver medalist. Five-time inline skating world champion, in third year with U.S. short-track team.

– Sarah Chen (USA): Only 17 (born March 15, 1995). Finished second at U.S. championships. Former track cyclist.

– Katherine Reutter (USA, not on World Cup team): Huge year in 2011: World champion at 1,500m, World Cup champion at 1,000m and 1,500m, second overall at Worlds with a a silver and a bronze in addition to gold. Won silver in 2010 Olympics (at 1,000 meters) in addition to bronze from relay. Rehabbing from hip injuries and didn’t compete at U.S. Championships but still listed as a Category I skater. Officially neutral in Chun dispute.

– Kimberly Derrick (USA): Finished seventh at U.S. championships but added to team as discretionary pick. On 2010 Olympic bronze-medal relay team. Also competed in 2006 Olympics one day after grandfather’s death. Signed statement in support of Chun. Updated with addition to World Cup team.

– Allison Baver (USA, not on World Cup team): Three-time Olympian. Didn’t make World Cup team (finished eighth at U.S. championships). One of Chun’s accusers. Has had injury problems and is also dabbling in long-track skating.

– Tamara Frederick (USA): Has World Cup experience. Finished sixth in U.S. championships but didn’t get discretionary pick, bypassed in favor of more experienced Derrick. Signed statement in support of Chun.

– Li Jianrou (China): Reigning world champion (overall and 1,500m). Second in 2011-12 World Cup at 1,000m.

– Ha-Ri Cho (South Korea): 2011 overall world champion. In 2012: World champion at 1,000m, World Cup champion at 1,500m. A decade of international experience.

– Arianna Fontana (Italy): 2010 bronze medalist at 500m. Third in 2011 and 2012 Worlds. World Cup champion at 500m.

Top finishers by year:

World Championships overall:

2006: Sun-Yu Jin (South Korea), Wang Meng (China), Kalyna Roberge (Canada)
2007: Jin, Eun-Ju Jung (South Korea), Roberge
2008: Wang, Zhou Yang (China), Shin-Young Yang (South Korea) // 7th – Katherine Reutter (USA)
2009: Wang, Ming-Jung Kim (South Korea), Zhou // 7th – Reutter, 8th – Kimberly Derrick (USA)
2010: Seung-Hi Park (South Korea), Wang, Ha-Ri Cho (South Korea) // 6th – Reutter
2011: Cho, Reutter, Arianna Fontana (Italy)

2012 World Championships:

Overall: Li Jianrou (China), Valerie Maltais (Canada), Arianna Fontana (Italy) // 8th – Lana Gehring (USA)
500m: Fan Kexin (China), Fontana, Gehring
1,000m: Ha-Ri Cho (South Korea), Li, Maltais
1,500m: Li, Liu Qiuhong (China), Marie-Eve Drolet (Canada)
3,000m: Maltais, Fontana, Drolet
Relay: China, USA, South Korea

2012 World Cup standings:

500m: Arianna Fontana (Italy), Martina Valcepina (Italy), Liu Quihong (China) // 6th – Jessica Smith (USA)
1,000m: Yui Sakai (Japan), Li Jianrou (China), Elise Christie (Britain) // 4th – Lana Gehring (USA)
1,500m: Ha-Ri Cho (China), Eun-Byul Lee (South Korea), Gehring // 4th – Katherine Reutter (USA)
Relay: China, USA, Japan

2010 Olympics:

500m: Wang Meng (China), Marianne St-Gelais (Canada), Arianna Fontana (Italy)
1,000m: Wang, Katherine Reutter (USA), Seung-Hi Park (South Korea)
1,500m: Zhou Yang (China), Eun-Byul Lee (South Korea), Park
Relay: China, Canada, USA

2006 Olympics

500m: Wang Meng (China), Evgenia Radanova (Bulgaria), Anouk Leblanc-Boucher (Canada)
1,000m: Sun-Yu Jin (South Korea), Wang, Yang Yang-A (China)
1,500m: Sun, Eun-Kyung Choi (South Korea), Wang
Relay: South Korea, Canada, Italy

Men

– J.R. Celski (USA): U.S. overall champion. Won bronze in 2010 (at 1,500 meters) in addition to relay bronze. Then took a year off to start a film company in Seattle. Second overall in 2009 World Championships (won 3,000m); fourth overall in 2010. Still holds junior world records at 500m and 1,000m, set in 2009. One of Chun’s accusers.

– Jeff Simon (USA): Back after dealing with back problems. One of Chun’s accusers and said he would not compete on World Cup circuit if coaches were still in place.

– Travis Jayner (USA): On 2010 bronze-medal relay team. Good 2010-11 season: World relay bronze, third in World Cup 1,000m. One of Chun’s accusers.

– Chris Creveling (USA): Signed statement in support of Chun. New to international competition.

– Kyle Carr (USA): 2011 World relay bronze. One of Chun’s accusers.

– John-Henry Krueger (USA): Youngster finished sixth at U.S. championships and was added to World Cup team as discretionary pick. Signed statement in support of Chun.

– Simon Cho (USA, not on World Cup team): At center of skate-tampering controversy. 2011 world champion at 500m, fourth overall. On 2010 bronze-medal relay team. Finished ninth in U.S. championships.

– Jordan Malone (USA, not on World Cup team): On 2010 bronze-medal relay team but had a few problems in the U.S. championships. One of Chun’s accusers.

– Charles Hamelin (Canada): Veteran won 2010 Olympic gold at 500m. World Championship medalist in odd years: silver in 2007, bronze in 2009, silver in 2011. Great World Cup in 2009-10: 1st at 500m, 2nd at 1,500m, 3rd at 1,000m.

– Yoon-Gy Kwak (South Korea): Reigning world champion (overall, 1,000m, 3,000m). 2012 World Cup champion at 1,000m.

– Jinkyu Noh (South Korea): 2011 overall world champion and world junior champion; overall runner-up and 1,500m champion in 2012. Also World Cup 1,500m champion in 2012.

– Olivier Jean (Canada): Third overall in Worlds and won 500m, where he was also the World Cup champion. The target of the skate tampering that tore apart the U.S. team. You have to see his picture.