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Suzanne Schulting (NED) celebrates in the Women's 500m final during the 2023 ISU World Cup Short Track in Dresden, Germany. @ISU
The ISU World Cup Short Track season concludes this weekend in Dordrecht, Netherlands, February 10-12, with the moment all fans of the sport have been waiting for: the awarding of the first ever ISU Short Track Crystal Globe trophies to the best overall male and female Short Track Speed Skating Skaters.
Suzanne Schulting (NED) will secure the Women’s prize, while Park Ji Won (KOR) will take the Men’s trophy back to Seoul (KOR) – but there are still plenty of individual medals up from grabs.
Schulting looks to complete dominant season
Since the season began, the Women’s title never looked like it was heading anywhere other than to Suzanne Schulting’s house. The Dutch racer has kept her momentum from last season, during which she enjoyed a glorious Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. She has won in all three individual distances to open up an unassailable lead in the title race.
Suzanne Schulting (NED) competes in the Women's 500m final during the 2023 ISU World Cup Short Track in Dresden, Germany. @ISU
Schulting has declared her intention to sign off with some medals on home ice before heading to the World Championships in Seoul (KOR) next month. Her nearest rival, Courtney Sarault (CAN), has also had a fine term, and will feel that in future years a tilt at winning the Crystal Globe herself is realistic. Sarault will fight for medals in Dordrecht, along with the ever-improving Kristen Santos-Griswold (USA).
Kristen Santos-Griswold (USA) celebrates bronce medal after medal ceremony of Women's 500m Final A race during the 2023 ISU World Cup Short Track in Almaty, Kazakhstan. @ISU
Hanne Desmet (BEL) will also look to cap a productive season in style, while Xandra Velzeboer (NED) will battle with Schulting in the 500m.
Two Koreans, however, look most likely to spoil Schulting’s homecoming party by gathering the golds.
Choi Min Jeong (KOR) started 2022/23 intentionally slowly after taking a lengthy break from action post-Beijing. But she is looking to peak for the Worlds, and in Dresden last weekend was her usual imperious self in the 1500m (1).
Minjeong Choi (KOR) competes in the Women's 1500m final during the 2023 ISU World Cup Short Track in Dresden, Germany. @ISU
Kim Gilli (KOR), meanwhile, has had a spectacular few weeks – winning 1000m and 1500m golds at the World Junior Championships, and securing her second senior individual ISU World Cup win in Dresden, in the 1500m (2).
Park set to grab Men’s Globe
Park Ji Won (KOR) has long been one of Republic of Korea’s most consistent skaters – he had a fine 2019/20, topping the rankings in the 1000m and 1500m – but his blend of explosive speed and ice intelligence has peaked this winter.
Ji Won Park (KOR) celebrates in the Men's 2nd 1500m final during the 2023 ISU World Cup Short Track in Dresden, Germany. @ISU
He looks incredibly hard to beat over those distances, although teammates Lee June Seo (KOR) and Hong Kyung Hwan (KOR) have been giving it an admirable go.
The Netherlands’ skaters started the season strongly and will be seeking to end it in similar fashion. Jens van ’t Wout (NED) has stood out as a bold young talent, enjoying some close battles with his training partner, Stijn Desmet (BEL). Both racers won gold at the recent European Championships.
Jens van 't Wout (NED) and Stijn Desmet (BEL) competing the Men's 1000m Final A during the 2023 ISU European Short Track Championships in Gdansk, Poland. @Getty Images
Don’t bet against veteran Netherlands great Sjinkie Knegt signing off with a win, either – he looked like his sharp old self in Dresden, almost pipping Park to gold in the 1500m (2).
Canada’s Steven Dubois and Pascal Dion continue to be in the mix, too, while Italian speedster Pietro Sighel can beat anyone on his day.
The story of the season, though, is perhaps Lin Xiaojun (CHN). Lin won Olympic gold at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games in the country of his birth (while known as Hyo Jun Lim), and became overall World Champion in 2019. But after leaving the Korean team, and a long struggle to compete for rivals China, Lin staged his first win for four years at the Dresden ISU World Cup – looking every inch the skater he used to be.
Xiaojun Lin (CHN) competes in the Men's 500m final during the 2023 ISU World Cup Short Track in Dresden, Germany. @ISU
A combative, explosive racer, expect him to battle for medals here in what could be the start of a great rivalry with his former nation.
The Crystal Globes will be awarded in a special ceremony on Sunday. The season will then conclude with the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Korea next month.
The Men’s and Women’s 1000m and 1500m (1), plus the Mixed Team Relay, take place on Saturday, while the 500m and 1500m (2) will be held on Sunday, and the 3000m Women’s Relay as well as the 5000m Men’s Relay will be the concluding proceedings.
World Cup Classification - Men
Overall World Cup Classification
World Cup Classification - Women
Overall World Cup Classification
World Cup Classification – Mixed Relay
Where to watch
Viewers will be able to watch the Saturday and Sunday afternoon (local time) World Cup sessions via their national broadcaster/channel.
For countries where there are no broadcasters and for the qualification and repechage races, the ISU will offer a live stream on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel. You will find the full list on the Where to watch webpage here.
ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series events 2022/23:
Oct 28 - 30, 2022 Montréal /CAN
Nov 04 - 06, 2022 Salt Lake City /USA
Dec 09 - 11, 2022 Almaty /KAZ
Dec 16 - 18, 2022 Almaty /KAZ
Feb 03 - 05, 2023 Dresden /GER
Feb 10 - 12, 2023 Dordrecht /NED
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