Successful speed skaters master art of deception
World's best combine physical strength with a cat-and-mouse game
Gary Kingston, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, October 24, 2008
They call it speed skating for a reason. Long track sprinters have been clocked at 50 kilometres an hour.
Even on the tight-cornered, 111-metre oval of the short track arena, skaters routinely hit 40 kilometres an hour.
Throw in three - and sometimes five - other competitors in the pack-style racing of short track, however, and it's not always the fastest man/woman who wins, but often the smartest.
If you're in the crowd this weekend when World Cup racing goes at Pacific Coliseum - qualifying heats begin this morning - keep an eye on the tactical game within the game.
Sure, strength, technique and explosiveness are critical, but the top skaters are the ones that have best figured out how to attack, when to attack and the art of deception.
"Deception does play a big part," says Michael Gilday, a Yellowknife native who earned his way onto the Canadian World Cup squad this season. "It's almost like the art of war. You might have to trick someone into thinking you're going to accelerate really fast.
"There's a thing called the heat track where you just sort of go a little bit wider and it sort of cuts [another competitor] off a little bit, makes them dump a little bit of speed. They have to work a little bit harder.
"It's a cat-and-mouse game for sure."
For short track neophytes, this World Cup, a pre-Olympic test event for the 2010 Games, will feature men and women skating three individual distances - 500, 1,000 and 1,500 metres - plus a 3,000-metre relay for women and a 5,000-metre relay for men.
In qualifying, four to six skaters mass start, with the top two advancing.
In the finals, the 500 and 1,000 pit four skaters; in the 1,500 there are six.
Passing, particularly at the speeds the skaters are travelling at, is risky. Overtaking skaters are responsible for any collision or obstruction. Those occasional collisions are why the athletes, skating on razor-sharp 17-inch blades, wear kneepads, shin pads, helmets and high-tech, cut-resistant racing suits.
On-ice judges are responsible for disqualifying skaters who try to use subtly placed elbows or other body parts to block, or who don't maintain a straight line from the end corner to the finish line.
Whatever the strategy employed, skaters say that to win, it's crucial to be no worse than second or third with four or five laps to go.
"Especially in the longer races, tactics might be more important than your strength and power," says Canadian veteran Olivier Jean of Montreal. "We've seen a skater winning races - overcoming a lack of fitness, or maybe you're sick - by having a really good strategy, working well, being in the right place at the right time so they're not wasting energy.
"You have to know when you want to go hard, when you want to slow down."
Jean says it's critical to know your opponent's tendencies. That's why skaters spend hours poring over video of top skaters trying to determine when they like to attack in the longer races or where they might be apt to leave that sliver of an opening to make a difficult inside pass.
"You always look at who you're going [to face] before a race," Jean says. "You always need to have an idea what people usually do. He usually goes outside, or inside. Everyone has their own style."
Given that the best skaters will sometimes employ different strategies, both Jean and Gilday say it's also important to trust your own game plan and instincts.
"You have to feel it, you have to know 'whew, alrighty I'm in trouble, I've got to pass right now,"' says Jean. "I hear someone taking speed, I've got to go right now.
"The goal is to never be in trouble. By that I mean, if the speed is fast and you're fifth in the pack, it's hard to go back in front."
Says Gilday: "Tactics are very important. You definitely want to see who's in your race and know they may do this or that. You set your race plan according to how they're going to race, but you don't want to get too caught up in it.
"Ultimately, you want to be able to race your own race, no matter who's there."
PICTURE:
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olympicringsandotherthings.blogspot.com/2008/10/ohno-skating-into-vancouver.htmlBlogger: Ohno Skating Into Vancouver
USA Today's Vicki Michaelis had a good report this morning regarding Apolo Anton Ohno's preparations for Vancouver 2010. It would indeed be thrilling to see him skate victorious in Canada after witnessing his gold medal feat in Torino a couple of years back.
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Short track brigade has message
Pacific Coliseum, site of 2010 Olympics, is Canadian team's territory
Terry Bell, The Province
Published: Thursday, October 23, 2008
Why wait until 2010?
Canada's short track speed skating team wants to give the world a message at the Samsung ISU World Cup this weekend: The Pacific Coliseum, home of the 2010 Olympic short track event, is their turf.
"It's the third time we've been here, and it's like it's our ice," Charles Hamelin, a nine-time visitor to the World Cup podium last season, said Wednesday.
"We came in twice (for a July summer camp and World Cup trials in September) and we know it very well. We know where to go, where to warm up. We know what the ice is like.
"Last year the team had some injuries, but this year the team will be strong, and I think we are going to be better," added the 24-year-old St. Julie, Que., native, who opened his season with two second-place finishes in a pair of 500-metre races at the World Cup opener last weekend in Salt Lake City.
"The first World Cup went really good for everyone. I did two races, got to two finals and got two medals. I hope to be able to make my way to the finals again this week."
Canada got six podium finishes last week. Besides Hamelin's two seconds, Montreal's Francois-Louis Tremblay and Edmonton's Jessica Gregg were third in the men's and women's 500. The men's and women's relay teams finished third.
And this weekend they should be stronger if Lachenaie, Que.'s Oliver Jean can shake off some season-opening rust.
He hit the podium six times in 2006-07, but sat out the 2007-08 season after slashing his right ankle with his skate while training two summers ago.
"Last year was all rehab," he said. "Now I feel really good.
"Physically, my ankle got back really well. All the tests we did show that it's almost back to normal. I don't feel any different. I feel I'm in great shape, as good as I was at the 2007 world championships, which was my last international competition.
"Right now it's the racing skills that I'm missing. I just have to get more races. I made some mistakes last week, but I know everything is right for me to win a distance and get on the podium at this World Cup."
Racing starts Friday with preliminaries and heats beginning at 8:45 a.m. and again at 2 p.m. The event continues Saturday and Sunday with repechage action beginning at 8 a.m. followed by quarterfinals, semifinals and finals at 2 p.m.
It's the first in what will be a blizzard of Olympic test events this winter. Vanoc officials will be paying close attention to what happens on and off the ice at the Pacific Coliseum, which is now $17 million into what will be a $19-million face-lift before it hosts Olympic short track and figure skating.
"It's a big step to go from World Cup to an Olympic Games, but this is a good step in the right direction," said Tim Gayda, vice-president of sport for Vanoc.
"We want to make sure that we provide the best field of play that we can. The ice, the padding system, the timing systems, everything to do with the competition is our number-one priority.
"But after that we look at all the different areas of the event, how the event is run, how the building is laid out. We're working with the staff at the PNE. There's huge learning all around, not just in sport, but in terms of the overall venue management."
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www.ckwstv.com/news/sports-news/20081022-Sports-News---7411.htmlSports News
October 22, 2008
Here are the sports results from Tuesday:
VANCOUVER, B.C. - Before there was Dancing With the Stars and his two gold Olympic medals, Apolo Anton Ohno spent many hours driving with his father from his home town of Seattle to Vancouver to compete in short-track speed skating competitions.
It was here the 12-year-old began to develop the speed, grace and ability that makes him one of the best racers in the world. It's also another reason why this weekend's World Cup short-track event, and the 2010 Winter Olympics, will be like competing at home for Ohno.
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www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=3f8d9964-cd98-470a-9f59-ccf995beee30Speedskaters yet to warm up to Pacific Coliseum's ice
Facility lacks wow factor of Beijing Games, but Vanoc is conscious of costs
Cam Cole, Vancouver Sun columnist
Published: Thursday, October 23, 2008
VANCOUVER - It is an unfair comparison, of course.
With Beijing still in the rear-view mirror, where money was no object and Summer Olympic sports facilities were eye-popping and spanking new, someone asked the members of Canada's short track speedskating team Wednesday whether the 40-year-old PNE Coliseum was going to be a satisfactory venue for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
The reviews were, well, muted.
"I think the facility's . . . pretty good," said Jessica Hewitt of Kamloops, the lone B.C. athlete on the Canadian squad that will compete in this weekend's Samsung ISU World Cup, beginning Friday morning. "We were here at the training camp in July and the ice wasn't the best, but it seems to be getting better. And the place has been cleaned up quite a bit, so I think it will be a good place to call home."
"I was in Beijing," said Speed Skating Canada's director general Jean Dupre, "so I can attest it's not the same atmosphere, for sure. But I think what's good about this facility, it is the home of the speedskating short track team leading to the Games. We've been able to establish a very strong partnership with the PNE and the management.
"Of course, we have some limitations in terms of how much access we can have to the facility leading to the Games, because of the [Vancouver Giants] hockey team that is competing here, but with the renovations that have been done to the facility, it's a great facility for us to train in . . . as much as we can train here."
If those aren't exactly ringing endorsements, Tim Gayda, the VP of sport for the 2010 Games' organizing committee, Vanoc, says the bulk of the $19-million budget for renovations to the former home of the Canucks was spent on expanding the ice surface to Olympic size, replacing the ice plant, updating the air circulation system and putting in new seats.
Backstage, it's still a 40-year-old hockey rink. And Vanoc has had to be conscious of costs, all the way down the line. Inside the arena bowl, it will sparkle. Under the stairs, a great deal of work remains to be done. For this weekend's meet, there might be three countries' skaters sharing each of eight existing change rooms, which at the moment are more partitioned than separated by actual walls. These are temporary rooms and will be properly walled - and there'll be more of them - by 2010.
As part of Speed Skating Canada's agreement with the PNE, the Canadian team will also have its own room, which at Games time will be custom painted with Olympic imagery, a perk the home team will enjoy at each of the Games facilities.
"For us, the No. 1 priority by far was to provide the best field of play we can," said Gayda. "When you get to the Olympic Games, the budgets are different for what we can provide in terms of services, and the look of the building will obviously be much different than what we see today. But we're working closely with the sport and the federation to make sure we're providing a great facility for the athletes to compete in."
Picture:
Charles Hamelin
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www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=47f2ade2-be56-469f-9fbb-781f9e7a830eKorean speedskaters a happy family
Team coming off 13 medals at world cup
Gary Kingston, Vancouver Sun
Published: Thursday, October 23, 2008
VANCOUVER - South Korean speedskating coach Jae-Mok Jeon, whose English seems good enough not to require the help of a translator, grins and turns to the earnest woman in front of him.
Oh yes, he tells the translator as he slips off his skates following a national team practice session at Pacific Coliseum, everyone is happy, everyone is training together.
That past conflict?
"It's no problem now."
Given that the dominating Koreans have just come off claiming 13 podium spots at the season-opening short track World Cup in Salt Lake City last weekend, who's to argue. But with the powerhouse nation, which somehow seems to function quite well in the midst of dysfunctional squabbling, can you really be sure?
The Koreans arrived at the Coliseum for a World Cup pre-Olympic test event minus their two triple gold medallists from Turin. The lingering effect of injuries picked up in January and February are reportedly the reason that Ahn Hyun-Soo (kneecap) and Jin Sun-Yu (ankle) have been left at home. But, as we said before, with the Koreans, it's often a case of who knows?
Four years ago, the Korean Skating Union accepted the resignation of two women's team coaches who were criticized for physically abusing the athletes.
Anti-corporal-punishment education was instituted for coaches, as was a "three-strike policy" for athletes. The third time they were cited for negligence or disobedience they would be banned from the training centre.
After the 2006 worlds, Ahn's father slapped the vice-president of KSU claiming that a coach and some skaters conspired to try to keep Ahn from winning the overall title.
It was a tough time. The men's and women's coaches were at war, skaters refused to dine with each other and Ahn and one-time good friend and roommate Lee Ho-suk, silver medallist at 1,000 and 1,500 metres in Turin, were no longer even talking.
The president of the KSU finally held a news conference in which he took "full responsibility" and promised broad reforms "to restore the trust of the Korean people."
Koreans are as passionate about speedskating as the Chinese are about badminton. Of the 31 Winter Olympic medals won by the country, 29 have come in short track. The sport is even part of the national education curriculum and there are some 500 clubs in the country.
Ahn and Jin may not be here, but the next wave of stars are, including Sae-Bom Shin, 16, and 18-year-old male skaters Jung-Su Lee and Yoon-Gy Kwak, who combined for three gold, one silver and one bronze in individual events in Salt Lake City.
Canadian veteran Olivier Jean of Montreal says it's no surprise to see the Koreans reload with talented youngsters, particularly given their strong short track history.
"In Korea, the way they train, it's more like figure skating here or tennis," said Jean. "They have private coaches. Parents pay a lot of money, and coaches for athletes at a young age are better than us in Canada, where we skate in clubs and it's more for fun.
"Kids in Korea get involved at a super young age to win. Six, seven, eight years old, the coaches put a lot of pressure on them. You can create a really good skater by 18 years old. You see them go on the ice and they trust their ability. They don't doubt. If they want to do a move, they do it. They're not scared they're going to die."
Ahn, who broke his kneecap when he crashed into a fence during training in January, talked in the past about training eight to 10 hours a day. And even the Chinese, who usually vie with Canada as the second-best nation, concede the Koreans are ahead of the curve as far as techniques.
Jeon says the Korean are skilled, tough-minded and willing to take direction.
"They observe everything the coach insisted to them," he said through the translator. "They listen to coach very well. Whatever they want."
Picture:
The Korean team
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www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/fwm/sports/31785264.htmlFederal Way Mirror Sports Briefs | Oct. 22
By CASEY OLSON
Federal Way Mirror Sports editor
Oct 22 2008
J.R. Celski’s debut into the big-time short-track speedskating World Cup series went very well. The Federal way teenager finished in fifth place in the 1,500-meter final at the ISU Samsung World Cup Short Track event in Salt Lake City last weekend. Celski also received a silver medal for being part of the 5,000-meter relay team, along with Anthony Lobello, Jeff Simon and Apolo Anton Ahno.
In the 1,500 semifinal, Celski finished in second place in a photo finish to qualify for the final. The final included Ohno, three South Koreans and a Russian and Canadian. Celski, 18, hung on during the final and finished behind the three Koreans and Ohno in a personal-best time of 2:15.757. The time was almost three seconds better than his previous best time.
Ohno, who also grew up in Federal Way, made his customary late charge and finished third in the 1,500 final. Ohno was sealed off on the final two laps by the top two finishers, South Korea’s Lee Jung-su and runner-up Lee Ho-suk.
“There was room. I made a little bit of a slight hesitation, but it’s early,” said Ohno. “It’s the very first World Cup of the season. I positioned myself right, came back from the fall yesterday, and was able to get on the podium twice today. I think I’m right where I need to be — within striking distance.”
Ohno crashed Saturday night when he lost an edge in the 1,000-meter final.
Celski also advanced in the first round of the 1,000 meters, but a fall in the quarterfinals knocked him out before the final.
Celski’s next meet will be World Cup ll at The Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, B.C. this weekend. Friday is qualifying day and Saturday and Sunday will include finals. The coliseum is where the 2010 Winter Olympic Short Track events will be held. Tickets for World Cup ll are available at
www.ticketmaster.ca/Pacific-Coliseum-tickets-Vancouver/venue/139267.
Celski recently took an 18-month break from competitive speed skating after suffering a back injury at the 2006 Junior World Championships and returned home to Federal Way for his junior year of high school at Todd Beamer. Celski had been living in Southern California and training with heralded coach Wilma Boomstra in Long Beach.
He has since moved back to California to continue his training in pursuit of making the U.S. Olympic Team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C.
Picture:
J.R. Celski
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www.canada.com/topics/sports/story.html?id=b9d81051-4ca8-4e7d-8fab-192bd2ecdd64Short track skaters gear up for World Cup meet in Vancouver this weekend
News Services
Published: Tuesday, October 21, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY -- Canada's short track speed skating team tuned up for this weekend's World Cup at the Pacific Coliseum with six podium finishes -- two seconds and four thirds -- at the season opener in Utah over the weekend.
Charles Hamelin of Ste. Julie, Que., finished second in two 500-metre races, one Saturday and another Sunday. François-Louis Tremblay of Montreal was third in Sunday's 500 as was Edmonton's Jessica Gregg in the women's 500.
"It wasn't easy, with an injury to my ankle on Friday, I was disadvantaged from the start", said Tremblay. "I didn't walk on it at all [Saturday], hoping to rest it as much as I can, and it paid off."
Gregg, who placed third in a World Cup in 2006, gained her second bronze medal. "This is a huge confidence booster going into Vancouver next week," said Gregg. "I know I can skate as fast as these girls and in Vancouver I will have the home crowd advantage, so I look forward to it."
Canada placed third in the men's and women's relays.
The team will train all week and compete in the second World Cup event at the Pacific Coliseum this Friday through Sunday.
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I'm too tired to make sure I posted all the right links and photos. I'll do it later. LOL. ;D
