About Short Track Skating
In short track speed skating, athletes compete not against the clock, but against each other. This introduces the elements of strategy, bravery and skill needed for racing.
After having been a demonstration sport at the 1988 Games in Calgary, short track speed skating became part of the Olympic programme in Albertville in 1992, with two individual events and two relays. The discipline comprises men’s and women’s events. Since the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin, the programme of this discipline has included eight events.
It quickly became popular with the public, who are thrilled to watch rapid races on tight tracks. The skaters race so closely to each other that collisions and falls are inevitable, which is why the walls of the speed skating oval are padded.
sports
NZ Fast facts
Olympic Games
- No. of athletes
- 7
- No. of games
- 5
- First appearance
- 1992
