ISU

Fintastic Junior struck gold, completing the hat trick, as the ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships concluded Saturday in Angers (FRA). A total of 23 teams with 512 Skaters representing 19 ISU Members competed in what was the eighth edition of the event.

Xandra Velzeboer (NED) pulled off a massive upset to win the World title in the Women’s 1000m on the final day of action at the KB Financial Group ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2023, going on to add two more golds in the relays to bring her World title tally for the weekend to four.

Park Ji Won (KOR) sent the Seoul crowd into raptures with a second World title of the weekend as Lin Xiaojun (CHN) completed a special comeback on his home ice on the final day of the KB Financial Group ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships.

The home crowd celebrated their first gold of the KB Financial Group ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Seoul as the unstoppable Park Ji Won (KOR) won the 1500m before Italy’s Pietro Sighel sprinted to eternal glory.

There was Dutch delight but home disappointment at the KB Financial Group ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Seoul (KOR) as Suzanne Schulting (NED) beat Choi Min Jeong in the 1500m and Xandra Velzeboer (NED) led an Oranje 1-2-3 in the 500m.

Courtney Sarault (CAN) has been firing on all cylinders this ISU Short Track Speed Skating season, highlighted by a second place overall in the World Cup standings, behind only the all-conquering Suzanne Schulting (NED).

The ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships take place on March 10 and 11 in Angers (FRA). A total of 23 teams with 512 Skaters representing 19 ISU Members have been entered for the Championships. It is the eighth edition of the event that started in 2013.

Kim leads the charge for new Korean Short Track generation. Kim Gilli (KOR) recently made a YouTube video for a Korean fan channel in which she declared: Suzanne, I am coming!

International Women’s Day is the perfect opportunity to celebrate and recognize achievements of women in the Ice Skating world. In the following lines, we will focus on four women coaches who are paving the way for future generations.

The International Skating Union (ISU) is pleased to have the KB Financial Group as the title sponsor for the final event of the Short Track season.  “Throughout the years, KB has been a strong supporter of skating and the athletes.” Said Jae Youl Kim, president of the ISU “We are thrilled to have KB as the title sponsor of the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2023 in Seoul. Together with KB, we look forward to a very exciting event for the skaters and all fans worldwide.”

On December 4, 2022, the International Skating Union (ISU) together with a variety of partners, national federations and skating clubs from all over the globe celebrated the first ever World Ice Skating Day (WISD). This inaugural edition was a success with events organized in 47 countries and at 170 ice rinks worldwide (read here). To boost a competitive spirit amongst the WISD organizers, the ISU announced the “Best WISD 2022” contest, which aims at rewarding the most successful WISD actions based on a list of specific criteria and targets (read here). Among the 25 nominees shortlisted for the 2022 Awards, the ISU is delighted to announce Indonesia (Federasi Ice Skating Indonesia) as winner of the Best WISD 2022 in the 500+ attending participants category, together with Mexico for the category involving less than 500 participants. The Ice Academy of Montreal (CAN) won the Best #WISDance category, awarding the most creative WISD signature choreography.

“I guess I wrote some history,” Jordan Stolz (USA) commented modestly, and he had indeed. Already the youngest ever World Single Distance Champion after winning both the 500m and 1000m, the American sealed an historic hattrick on the final day in Heerenveen with victory in the 1500m. It makes the 18-year-old the first skater in World Single Distance Championship history to win three individual distances. Another milestone winner rounded off the Men’s competition, as Davide Ghiotto became Italy’s first-ever World Single Distance Champion with gold in the 10,000m.   

Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong (NED) and Irene Schouten (NED) took the last two women’s titles at the ISU World Single Distance Championships in Heerenveen on Sunday, but Ragne Wiklund (NOR) left the competition as the most decorated female skater. The Norwegian 3000m champion claimed silver behind both Rijpma-De Jong in the 1500m and Schouten in the 5000m. Martina Sáblíková (CZE) won her 18th World Single Distance medal with bronze in the 5000m. Only the recently retired Dutch legend Sven Kramer (21) has won more.

Kao Miura (JPN) added another title to his resume and smashed the competition to win with more than 40 points to spare, as competition at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships wrapped up in Calgary, AB (CAN) Saturday with the Junior Men’s Free Skating. 

Katerina Mrazkova/Daniel Mrazek (CZE) danced straight into history winning the first medal for a Czech Ice Dance team at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships Saturday in Calgary, AB (CAN) – and it was the gold.