Kristen Santos-Griswold (USA) celebrates her sweep of the women's individual events at the ISU Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Laval, Canada © ISU
There’s a strong case to be made that Kristen Santos-Griswold (USA) is the best Short Track speed skater in the world right now.
The American has been backing up her boundless potential with results to match, and on Sunday she added the 1000m gold at the ISU Four Continents Short Track Championships 2024 to the 500m and 1500m she seized on Saturday.
It was a dominant performance — no other skater came close to her all weekend — and in the 1000m she finished metres ahead of the steadily-improving Courtney Sarault (CAN), who took silver in front of her home crowd, and Danae Blais (CAN), with bronze.
Santos-Griswold confident across the distances
Santos-Griswold’s gold medal on Sunday made her the first racer, male or female, to win all three distances at a single Four Continents competition since 2020.
“That’s pretty cool. I feel really good. This is a big confidence builder going into the rest of the season. The race started off a lot faster than I anticipated. I had to stay calm; it was pretty hectic. I tried not waste any energy in the beginning.”
A key Santos-Griswold strength has been her versatility; it’s hard to see which distance is her strongest.
“I’ve always liked every distance, and I’ve tried hard not to put myself in a box of being solely a distance skater. I love speed, but don’t always have the best start out there. That’s something I’m working on, and I just want to continue to give myself opportunities in every distance.
“The thousand is pretty hard, but they’re all difficult in their own way. The 1500m is the most mentally difficult, because there is a lot of time to think. The 500m is physically hard, because there is not too much time, but mentally you don’t have time to think — you just go. The 1000m is a mix.”
Santos-Griswold hopes to build on her early success.
“For the rest of the season, I just want to build off this, and keep being more confident. I want to show what I can do at the World Championships, especially.”
Sarault improving steadily
While Santos-Griswold has soared this term, Courtney Sarault — many people’s early favorite to win the ISU Crystal Globe for the season’s top skater — has started off a little slower.
Canada's Courtney Sarault (left) and Danae Blais in the 1000m semifinals at the ISU Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Laval, Canada © ISU
She didn’t skate her best at the opening ISU World Cup meetings, but seems to have found her form in Laval.
“It was a good race mentally. I did everything I could. I was trying to go fast, but I knew my legs weren’t 100 per cent. But Kristen is hitting really fast lap times. I’m happy to be on a podium. I’ve loved the ice in Laval, it’s been a really nice competition.”
She says she is feeling more comfortable on the ice.
“I’m feeling much better than the first two World Cups. They were terrible. I was skating backwards. My blades and boots were bad, I couldn’t get anything working. I wanted to hit everyone with a bang at the start of the year, but instead I got hit with a bang.”
Sarault believes it is game on for the rest of the winter.
“I’m going to go back to training and try to get better lap times,” she said. “It’s where I want to be, I’m just lacking the last two or three laps. Once that is back, I think I’ll be good to go.
“Kristen is such a strong skater. She has the legs, she connects with the ice really well. I kind of envy her. I’m trying to get that pressure on the ice back. Props to her. If she can get out in the front, she is good to go.”
Canada won the 2000m mixed relay, with USA second and China third.
Canada won the 2000m Mixed Relay, ahead of USA and China, at the ISU Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Laval, Canada © ISU
Canada also won the 3000m women's relay. Korea was second and Kazakhstan third.
Canada won the 3000m Relay, ahead of Korea, Kazakhstan and Japan at the ISU Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Laval, Canada © ISU
The Short Track season gets going again in just over a month, with the ISU World Cup in Beijing, China from Dec. 8-10.
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 races on Friday and repechage races (Saturday and Sunday morning), the ISU will offer a live stream with English commentary on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel. You will find the full list on the Where to watch webpage here.
Only for the Friday qualification races and repechage races on Saturday and Sunday morning (local time), no geoblocking will apply.
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ISU Short Track Speed Skating Championships events 2023/24:
Nov 4 - 5, 2023 ISU Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships – Laval (CAN)
Jan 12 - 14, 2024 ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships – Gdansk (POL)
Feb 22 - 25, 2024 ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships – Gdansk (POL)
Mar 15 - 17, 2024 ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships – Rotterdam (NED)
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