ISU

Republic of Korea delivered a roof-raising display of short track power and poise to get the inaugural Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships underway at Montreal’s iconic Maurice Richard Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Thomas Krol (NED) completed his 1500m sweep on the opening day of the ISU European Speed Skating Championships in Heervereen (NED), adding the European title to the national and World titles he already had under his belt. Russia won the men's team pursuit with bronze medallists Switzerland writing speed skating history by seizing the first medal for their country at any European speed skating championships.

Ireen Wüst (NED) added a title she did not have yet to her impressive list of honour at the opening event of the ISU European Speed Skating Championships on Friday in Heervereen (NED). The reigning Olympic Champion left Russians Yevgenia Lalenkova and Yekaterina Shikhova behind to win the ladies' 1500m. Angelina Golikova, Olga Fatkulina and Daria Kachanova (RUS) made amends for their compatriots, winning the ladies Team Sprint.

The rising stars are about to take part in the Youth Olympic Games that will take place from January 9 – 22, 2020.

The 2019/20 season features the arrival of a brand-new competition – the ISU Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships. The event gathers together the best racers from the Americas and Asia to fight it out for the titles: it’s essentially the rest of the world’s answer to the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships.

After having been home to the ISU European Allround Speed Skating Championships fifteen times in history, Heerenveen (NED) will host the ISU European Speed Skating Championships in single distances format for the first time this weekend. A total of fourteen titles will be up for grabs in three days of exciting competition in the Dutch Speed Skating Mekka.

Junior medals are no guarantee for future success in Speed Skating, but some of the previous Youth Olympic Champions went on to win major titles in the senior category as well. Min-Seok Kim (KOR) is the only Speed Skater to this date to have won both Youth Olympic and senior Olympic silverware since the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2012.

The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating series 2019/20 with its eight events including the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating was full of exciting moments. The best of the best – the top six in each discipline - advanced to the Final in Torino in December. Historic moments and amazing performances highlighted the series. Let’s have a look back.

The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) showcase the stars of tomorrow and quite a few successful Figure Skaters from the first two editions of the event in 2012 and 2016 rose to prominence.

Short Track skaters often describe the complex love-hate relationship they have with their sport. The sometimes desperately cruel twists of fortune

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.

As the festive season approaches and another year draws to an end, it is an opportunity to reflect on 2019 and look to the future and what 2020 will bring.

Nathan Chen made headlines last year when he announced that he would become a full-time student at Yale University. Not many Singles, Ice Dance or Pairs skaters of Chen’s calibre have gone on to pursue both academics and athletics. However, for many Junior and Senior Synchronized Skaters, this balancing act is all too familiar.

The Biellmann spin is one of the best known spins in figure skating – and the only one named after a person. It is an upright spin, a variation of the layback spin. While spinning on one leg, the skater pulls the other leg up and holds the foot extended over and behind the head. By ISU rules, the spin is a Biellmann, when "the level of the boot passes the head so that the boot is above and behind or over the head”. There are various degrees of extension of the free leg.

The fourth ISU World Cup Speed Skating event took place this weekend in Nagano (JPN). If you missed it, catch up with these highlights.