Short Track Skating

This is another sport that is head-to-head competition that is gaining more favor at the Winter Olympic Games. Rather than just racing the clock, as in speedskating, the short track has action like the snowboard cross that I was at last week. On Thursday evening I was at the Palavela (where the figure skating takes place) to watch men's qualifying heats and a ladies relay final. Great action. Got to see Apolo Anton Ohno skate.

And then I also watched the ladies 3000 m relay. This race is a blast. The racers each take about a lap and a half each and then keep rotating in and out for something like 30 laps. Each time they switch the skaters inside the "infield" move along side the racer and then jump in and get a push from the previous skater. It gets wildly confusing and when a spill happens it gets crazy. In this race the Italian team was never in contention. The Koreans came in first with Canada and China finishing next. However the Italian skater was blocked by the Chinese who were subsequently disqualified. This met with thunderous approval from the pro-Italian crowd. Lots of fun all the way around.