Lausanne, Switzerland

#ShortTrackSkating       #Lausanne2020      #YouthOlympics

Short Track Speed Skating fans should keep an eye on the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, Switzerland this January because the event is a great showcase for future stars of the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating circuit, ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships and Olympic Winter Games.

There have been two previous editions of the Winter YOG: Innsbruck 2012 and Lillehammer 2016. At the inaugural competition, several names that every fan now knows well were on display.

Lim Hyo Jun KOR WSTSSC 2019 International Skating Union ISU 1134901030

Lim Hy Jun (KOR) at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2019©International Skating Union (ISU)

The Republic of Korea dominated the medals at both events, with the current Men’s ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Champion, Lim Hyojun, winning the Boy’s 1000m in Austria. Then aged just 15, Lim beat his teammate Yoon Su-Min into second place, with China’s Xu Hongzhi taking bronze.

Lim has gone on to be one of the Republic of Korea’s foremost skaters, peaking at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, where he won the gold medal in the 1500m in an Olympic record two minutes, 10:485 seconds, ahead of the Netherlands’ Sjinkie Knegt.

Lim took this fine form into 2018/19, too, finishing the season as overall winner at the 2019 ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Sofia.

Hongzhi Xu CHN WSTSSC 2018 International Skating Union ISU 936309446

Hongzhi Xu (CHN) at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2019©International Skating Union (ISU)

The Korean student also took a silver medal at Innsbruck in the 500m – this time being pipped to gold by Yoon. The man in third place, Xu, has also built a solid career in the sport. He went on to gain a silver in the 5000m Relay at PyeongChang 2018, and has also won two ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championship Relay golds; he regularly makes top 10 finishes in ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating events.

In the Girls’ competition, the notable breakout star from Innsbruck 2012 was also a Korean. Shim Suk Hee dominated the tournament, triumphing in both the 500m and 1000m – as well as becoming overall ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Champion that season.

Shim Suk Hee KOR WCSTSS KAZ 2018 International Skating Union ISU 1070504302

Shim Suk Hee (KOR) at the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating (KAZ) 2019@International Skating Union (ISU)

She has since gone on to gain the ultimate prize of Olympic gold, too: at both Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018, she was a key part of the Republic of Korea Relay teams that took the 3000m titles.

On an individual basis in Sochi, Shim picked up silver in the 1500m and bronze in the 1000m. She was crowned overall Ladies’ ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Champion in 2014, and has earned numerous ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championship and ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating medals since.

Suzanne Schulting NED WSTSSC 2019 International Skating Union ISU 1134905397 (1)

Suzanne Schulting (NED) at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2019©International Skating Union (ISU)

Also in action at Innsbruck was Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands. The Dutch superstar, who participated in the Speed Skating competition in Austria, didn’t make it on to a podium but surely gained valuable experience on her road to becoming a Short Track Speed Skating Olympic gold medal winner and ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Champion. Sumire Kikuchi of Japan, and Qu Chunyu of China, both competed in the two 2012 Girls’ Short Track events, as well as the Mixed Relay, and have also progressed to compete at the senior Games.

Sumire Kikuchi JPN WCSTSS JPN 2019 INternational Skating Union ISU 1191049934

Sumire Kikuchi (JPN) at the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating (JPN) 2019@International Skating Union (ISU)

Lillehammer 2016 also featured a number of excellent athletes, many of whom are now reaching the peak of their powers on the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating circuit.

Hwang Dae Heon KOR WCSTSS ITA 2019 INternational Skating Union ISU 1128527579 (1)

Hwang Dae Heon (KOR) at the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating (ITA) 2019@International Skating Union (ISU)

Hwang Dae Heon won the Boys’ 1000m. Nearly four years on, he is the world’s No.1 male skater. He won silver in the 500m at PyeongChang 2018, and gold in that event at the 2019 ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, where he finished second in the overall standings behind Lim.

Yongjin Lim KOR Ziwei Ren CHN Wei Ma CHN WJSTSSC 2016 507766164

Yongjin Lim (KOR), Ziwei Ren (CHN), Ma Wei (CHN) at the ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2016©International Skating Union (ISU)

Ma Wei of China finished second in the Lillehammer 2016 Boys’ 1000m, and third in the 500m, and went on to skate on the ISU circuit briefly without making much of an impact. The boy in third place in the 1000m, Shaoang Liu, however, has, like Hwang, gone on to become one of the most exciting and charismatic racers on the circuit.

Liu won a memorable gold medal in the 500m Relay at PyeongChang 2018, along with his brother Shaolin Sandor, and has also taken gold medals in the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships, ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships, and several ISU World Cups.

Shaoang Liu Shaolin Sandor Liu HUN Semen Elistratov RUS ESTSSC 2019 International Skating Union ISU 1081858708

Shaoang Liu (HUN), Shaolin Sandor Liu (HUN) and Semen Elistratov (RUS) at the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2019©International Skating Union (ISU)

Kim Ji Yoo was victorious in the Girls’ 1000m and the Mixed Relay in Lillehammer, and has since become overall ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Champion (2017-18), seized the bronze in the 500m at the 2017 ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, and earned many medals on the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating circuit – most recently 1500m gold at the 2019 meeting in Montreal.

Lara van Ruijven NED Petra Jaszapati HUN Natalia Maliszewska POL WCSTSS KAZ 2018 International Skating Union ISU 1070364160

Lara van Ruijven (NED), Petra Jaszapati (HUN) and Natalia Maliszewska (POL) at the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating (KAZ) 2018@International Skating Union (ISU)

Other notables? Hungary’s Petra Jaszapati took silver in the 500m at Lillehammer – and is now a constant threat to ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating podiums at senior level – while Germany’s Anna Seidel was third in the 1000m and is also making an impression on the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating circuit.

Now the next #YouthOlympics are coming up in #Lausanne2020 and will take place from January 9-22, 2020. A new generation of young and talented skaters is waiting to be discovered and is starting their Youth Olympic journey that might lead them to the very top.

All Short Track competitions will be live streamed on ISU.ORG.

For more information please visit the Olympic Channel.