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Liu brothers and Krueger lead Hungary’s Short Track charge

The Liu brothers have already secured their place in Hungarian Olympic history. At PyeongChang 2018, Shaolin Sandor Liu and his younger sibling Shaoang Liu were the key members of the 5000m Men’s Relay team who won their country’s first ever Olympic Winter Games gold medal. It propelled them from virtual unknowns to national heroes – and the duo have gone from strength to strength since, helping to popularize skating in a traditionally summer-sport-obsessed country.

Shaolin Sandor Liu and Shaoang Liu HUN WSTSSC 2021 International Skating Union ISU 1305834453

Shaolin Sandor Liu and Shaoang Liu (HUN) celebrate at the finish line in the 1000m Men's final at the 2021 ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Dordrecht, Netherlands © International Skating Union (ISU)

Shaolin was crowned 2019 ISU European Champion, and won the 1000m title at the 2021 ISU World Championships. He got the overall silver medal, too – one place behind his brother. That overall 2021 ISU World Championship was Shaoang’s crowning achievement; he also won the 2020 ISU European Championship.

Shaolin Sandor Liu Shaoang Liu ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships Dordrecht 2021©International Skating Union 1305829143

Shaolin Sandor Liu and Shaoang Liu (HUN) celebrate at the finish line in the 1000m Men's final at the 2021 ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Dordrecht, Netherlands © International Skating Union (ISU)

The pair, meanwhile, have helped break the Korean, Chinese and Canadian dominance of the male discipline at World Cup level, winning numerous medals.

Both brothers can compete at all three distances, with Shaolin’s results slightly better in the 500m, and Shaoang’s in the 1000m. They also work together fantastically on the ice, pacing each other and blocking brilliantly to make it hard for any individual rival to defeat them both. While they are always up for a brotherly battle, there is always genuine delight in the success of the other, and a lack of ego, which massively improves their chances. As Shaolin has said about their upbringing, “Dad always said it doesn’t matter who gets the gold medal – but keep it in the family. So everything we own, we share it.”

The Liu brothers head to the Olympics with a couple of missions: firstly, to retain their Relay crown, and, secondly, to add the only thing missing from their personal trophy cabinets: individual Olympic medals.

The first task looks entirely possible – and their chances were enhanced by the addition of John-Henry Krueger to the Hungarian line-up.
John Henry Krueger ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships Gdansk 2021©International Skating Union 1298072496

John-Henry Krueger (HUN) competing at the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Gdansk, Poland © International Skating Union (ISU)

Krueger is already an individual Olympic medalist – he took silver at PyeongChang 2018 while still skating for the USA. His addition to the Relay line-up means Hungary’s Olympic-medal outfit has arguably been improved for Beijing 2022. “Saying that Shaolin and Ado [Shaoang] are just talented is a disservice to them,” Krueger said. “They train incredibly hard. I’ve seen them, extremely fatigued – mentally and physically – push out some crazy practices. You know it is coming from their minds and soul, to push through something.”

John Henry Krueger Shaoang Liu Pietro Sighel ISU World Cup Short Track Dordrecht 2021 ©International Skating Uni1355999015 (2)

John-Henry Krueger (HUN), Shaoang Liu (HUN) and Pietro Sighel (ITA) at the Men's 1000m medal ceremony during the 2021 ISU World Cup Short Track in Dordrecht, Netherlands ©International Skating Union (ISU)

Krueger has performed well this season and is hungry to rival the Liu brothers for individual glory, too. “The podium in Beijing is the goal,” he said. “When I stepped on the podium in 2018 to get my silver medal, instead of savoring that moment, all I could think was, ‘I cannot let this be the last time I do this.’”

But Beijing feels like the Liu brothers’ moment, in particular. Possessing Chinese heritage through their father, they speak fluent Mandarin and are already big stars in the country. “We are lucky, the Olympics being in Beijing means it’s a half home crowd for us,” Shaolin said. “It’s going to be a nice rink, the tickets are sold out, and our sport is still growing. Out of 1.4 billion people, many people are going to remember us.”

Petra Jaszapati ISU World Cup Short Track Almaty 2018 ©International Skating Union 1070363848

 Petra Jaszapati (HUN) celebrates winning the ladies 500m final race ISU World Cup Short Track in Almaty, Kazakhstan ©International Skating Union (ISU)

On the women’s side of the team, Petra Jaszapati is Hungary’s key hope. She has shown her potential at ISU World Cup races over the years, with a gold in the 500m in Almaty (KAZ) in 2018, and a couple of other podium places. Combining with the male skaters well, the side also have a shot at a medal in the 2000m Mixed Relay.