Exciting mass start event to conclude the Olympics in speed skating

Mass start races concluded the speed skating events of the Olympics today at the Gangneung oval in front of a roaring crowd.

By Jackob Savard

Photos: Thomas di Nardo (https://www.thomasdinardo.com) & Schaats Foto’s

It was the first time that the spectacular mass start event was raced at the Olympic games.

Ladies’ semifinals

Francesca Lollobrigida from Italy was dominant in the first semifinal gathering some sprint laps’ points and crossing the finish line in first position. The inline speed skating specialist came to Pyeongchang as one of the favorite to win the mass start. Canada’s Keri Morrison did a perfect race and finished in third place to qualify for the final alongside Dan Guo, Irene Schouten, Nana Takagi and Kim Bo-reum who also finished in the top 8.

There was a bit more action in the second ladies semifinal as Ivanie Blondin fell and took out Ayano Sato and Annouk van der Weijden. Sato and Blondin, who are respectively fourth and sixth in the World cup classification, would not take part in the finale. Van der Weijden managed to come back to the pack and finished second despite the fall. A medal on the distance would help her sweetened her heartbreaking fourth place on 5000m.

Men’s semifinals

Linus Heidegger from Austria was the first to pass the finish line in the first semifinal after a little breakaway with Andrea Giovannini from Italy and Shane Williamson from Japan. The three qualified for the main event. Other favorites including Lee Seung-Hoon, Alexis Contin, Koen Verweij and Olivier Jean also qualified for the final as they concluded the race in the top 8.

Peter Michael raced with confidence in the second semi and was the first to finish the 16 laps race. Almost every skater got sprint points in this race and it was a matter of who got the most. Sven Kramer who was racing in his first mass start of the season did a solid race and collected 6 points to earn his ticket for the A final. Inline speed skating specialists Bart Swings, Livio Wenger and Joey Mantia also managed  to qualify.

Ladies' final

Saskia Alusalu started her race like she did in Calgary earlier this season by trying to escape the pack with a breakaway. The pack came back on her with 3 laps to go to prepare for the sprint. Nana Takagi from Japan won the sprint finishing ahead of crowd favorite’s Kim Bo-reum and Irene Schouten from the Netherlands. Alusalu got fourth place with the 15 points she won in the intermediate sprints. Lollobrigida who’s leading the mass start World cup classification finished in 7th.

Men’s final

A lot of skaters tried to escape from the pack in the final but it was finally the sprint that decided the podium. Nobody was able to beat Korean star Lee Seung-hoon in the last stretch. His 16 years old teammate Jaewon Chung as a little bit to do with this victory as he leaded the chase group for a long time to help Lee come back on the breakaway and fight in the sprint. Bart Swings from Belgium and Koen Verweij from the Netherlands finished in second and third. Livio Wenger who was in the breakaway for the majority of the race finished fourth with 11 points. The 2017 World championships medalists on the distance Joey Mantia, Alexis Contin et Olivier Jean had a difficult race and finished 9th, 10th and 14th.

That’s it for speed skating at the Olympic games! The next long track event will be the Sprint world championships that will be held in Changchun, China on 3th and 4th March.

Visit our special coverage page to find all our articles related to Pyeongchang 2018 by clicking HERE

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Korea - Single Distances Championships results

Min-Jo Kim finished 5th on both 500m races and 6th on 1000m.

Text: Carl Savard
Photos: Schaats Foto's   and Tony Chung  (@SHORTTRACKHD)

It is in Seoul that the best korean speed skaters met last week from October 18 through the 20th to compete in the 2018 Single distances korean championships. In this season that will see Korea host the rest of the world during the Pyeongchang Olympic games from February 9 to February the 25th, all eyes will be on the korean athletes. Very often, the country hosting the Games is pushed up front by the crowd and the overall energy coming from being at home. Last week’s results may be a good sample of who will battle with the bests this winter.

The winners in all the distances

Two 500m were on the program for this competition and on the women’s side the top five was the same on both days. The top three positions were grabbed by Sang-Hwa Lee, Hyeon-Yeong Kim and Min-Seon Kim which also gave them those three same spot for the combined results on the distance. On the men’s side, even though Tae-Beom Mo finished second in both races, the first one was won by Min-Kyu Cha while the third place went to Joon-Ho Kim. In the second 500m, Tae-Yoon Kim won the distance while Min-Kyu Cha finished third. On the combined result, Mo finishes first in front of Tae-Yoon Kim and Cha.

On 1000m, Sang-Hwa Lee finished first while Hyeon-Yeong Kim and Seung-Hee Park finished second and third on the women’s side. Tae-Yoon Kim, Tae-Beom Mo and Weon-Hoon Jang finished in that order on the men’s side.

On 1500m Seon-Yeong No, Bo-Reum Kim and Jee-Woo Park were the top three women on the distance while Seung-Hoon Lee, Min-Seok Kim and Hyeong-Joon Joo were the top three men.

On 5000m, Jee-Woo Park was the only women to compete. On the men’s side, Seung-Hoon Lee  finished first, Jae-Won Chung second and Cheon-Ho Eom third.

The women’s 3000m race victory went to Bo-Reum Kim while Jee-Woo Park and Do-Yeong Park finished in second and third. Only three skaters raced the men’s 10 000m distance with Seung-Hoon Lee finishing first followed by Seong-Kwang Park and Byeong-Wook Ko.

Seung-Hee Park

Besides winning the bronze on the 1000m distance, the 2010 short track speed skating world champion and queen of the 2014 Sochi Olympic games finished fourth on both 500m races during the competition. Park left the 111m track for the 400m oval after the Sochi games.

To see the full results, click HERE

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Résultats des Championnats coréens par distances individuelles

Min-Jo Kim a terminé au cinquième rang des deux épreuves de 500m et en sixième place sur 1000m.

Texte: Carl Savard

Photos: Schaats Foto's  and Tony Chung  @SHORTTRACKHD

C’est à Séoul que se réunissaient, du 18 au 20 octobre dernier, les meilleurs patineurs de vitesse coréens sur longue piste pour prendre part aux Championnats coréens par distances individuelles de la saison 2017-18. Comme la Corée du Sud recevra le monde entier à Pyeongchang dans le cadre des Jeux Olympiques d’hiver 2018 du 9 au 25 février prochain, tous les yeux sont tournés vers les athlètes coréens. Souvent, soulevés par la foule et l’énergie de compétitionner à la maison, les athlètes du pays hôte sont à leur meilleur. Les résultats de la semaine dernière donnent un aperçu de qui sont les athlètes sud-coréens susceptibles de batailler avec les meilleurs au monde cet hiver.

Les gagnants sur chaque distance

Deux épreuves de 500m étaient au programme lors de cette compétition. Du côté des femmes, les cinq premières patineuses au classement après le premier 500m ont terminé dans le même ordre lors du deuxième. Le podium fut composé de Sang-Hwa Lee, Hyeon-Yeong Kim et Min-Seon Kim dans les deux courses et par le fait même au combiné des deux courses. Chez les hommes, Tae-Beom Mo à terminé au deuxième rang dans les deux 500m. Le premier a été remporté par Min-Kyu Cha alors que la troisième marche du podium était occupée par Joon-Ho Kim. Sur le deuxième 500m, Tae-Yoon Kim remporte la distance alors que Min-Kyu Cha termine troisième. Au classement combiné sur 500m, Mo termine premier devant Tae-Yoon Kim et Cha.

Sur 1000m chez les femmes, Sang-Hwa Lee termine première alors que Hyeon-Yeong Kim et Seung-Hee Park terminent deuxième et troisième. Pendant ce temps du côté des hommes, Tae-Yoon Kim, Tae-Beom Mo et Weon-Hoon Jang composent le podium.

Sur 1500m, Seon-Yeong No, Bo-Reum Kim et Jee-Woo Park ont été les trois meilleures chez les femmes alors que Seung-Hoon Lee, Min-Seok Kim et Hyeong-Joon Joo ont terminé dans cet ordre chez les hommes.

Sur 5000m, Jee-Woo Park a été la seule femme à parcourir la distance. Pour ce qui est des hommes, Seung-Hoon Lee, Jae-Won Chung et Cheon-Ho Eom furent les meilleurs.

La victoire du 3000m chez les femmes est allée à Bo-Reum Kim. Jee-Woo Park et Do-Yeong Park terminent deuxième et troisième respectivement. Seulement trois hommes ont pris part au 10 000m, la victoire allant à Seung-Hoon Lee. Seong-Kwang Park termine deuxième alors que Byeong-Wook Ko termine en troisième position.

Seung-Hee Park

En plus de remporter le bronze sur 1000m, la championne du monde sur courte piste en 2010 et reine des Jeux olympiques de Sotchi en 2014 a terminé au quatrième rang lors des deux épreuves de 500m présentés durant ces Championnats coréens de longue piste. Park a quitté le parcours de 111m pour l'anneau de 400m après son triomphe à Sotchi.

Pour consulter les résultats complets, cliquez ICI.

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