Samsung ISU World Cup Short Track
Torino (ITA) 30 November – 2 December, 2007
Over two years after the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, the world
of short track speed skating came to Torino once again as
part of the fourth round of the Samsung ISU World Cup Short
Track. With its sail-like shaped roof, rendered famous in
the original “Italian Job” movie, the Palavela
ice rink was home of this weekend’s world cup event.
For the second consecutive weekend, the skaters from Korea
and China dominated the competition, winning all of the races
except for the men’s 500 meters, which was won by Francois-Louis
Tremblay of Canada. The Korean team left Torino with 13 medals,
while the Chinese took 4 medals.
Motivated by the support of local fans, the Italians performed
extremely well, taking medals in both the relay and individual
races. The Italian ladies took silver medal in the 3000 meters
relay, while their male counterpart took the bronze medal
in the 5000 meters relay. Yuri Confortola earned a bronze
medal in the first or two 1500 meters events that were skated
this weekend.
Another team that performed well this weekend was the team
from the United States of America. The ladies team from the
USA took third place in the 3000 meters relay event, and four
individual bronze medals were earned by: Jordan Malone (1000
meters and the second 1500 meters), J.P. Kepka (500 meters),
and Katherine Reutter (1000 meters)
The schedule of races at this weekend’s Samsung ISU
World Cup Short Track had the athletes compete in the 1500
meters distance twice. The Koreans dominated this distance
taking the wins in all four races. On Saturday, the first
of the ladies 1500 meters was won by Sae-Bom Shin, while her
teammate Eun-Ju Jung won the second race. On the men’s
side, the wins went to Si-Bak Sung (first 1500 meters) and
Hyun-Soo Ahn (second 1500 meters).
The ladies and men 1000 meters event were decided in similar
fashion, with skaters from Korea taking first and second places,
while skaters from the United States took third. On the ladies
side, the win went to Shing-Young Yan of Korea, followed by
teammate Sun-Yu Jin. Katherine Reutter took third place. On
the men’s side, first and second places went to Kyung-Taek
Song and Hyun-Soo Ahn, while third place went to Jordan Malone.
The 500 meters races were the only individual events that
we not won by Korean skaters. In the ladies 500 meters, the
Chinese showed their strength in this distance, with Meng
Wang and Tian Yu Fu taking first and second places, ahead
of Canadian Kalyna Roberge. In the men’s 500 meters,
Francois-Louis Tremblay won ahead of Korean Si-Bak Sung and
American J.P. Kepka.
The weekend concluded with the relay events. In the ladies
3000m relay, the Chinese took the win ahead of local favorite
Italian ladies team. Third place went to the team from the
United States. The men’s 5000 meters relay was a closely
fought race, between Korea and Canada, with the Koreans taking
the win. Third place went to the Italians.
The next Samsung ISU World Cup Short Track event takes place
on February 1-3, 2008 in Quebec City (CAN).
Samsung ISU World Cup Short Track – Torino
(ITA).
Top 3 Results by Category
Ladies 500m
1 WANG, Meng CHN 1st
2 Fu, Tian Yu CHN 2nd
3 ROBERGE, Kalyna CAN 3rd
Men 500m
1 TREMBLAY, Francois-Louis CAN 1st
2 SUNG, Si-Bak KOR 2nd
3 KEPKA, J.P. USA 3rd
Ladies 1000m
1 YANG, Shin-Young KOR 1st
2 JIN, Sun-Yu KOR 2nd
3 REUTTER, Katherine USA 3rd
Men 1000m
1 SONG, Kyung-Taek KOR 1st
2 AHN, Hyun-Soo KOR 2nd
3 MALONE, Jordan USA 3rd
Ladies 1500m Day 1
1 SHIN, Sae-Bom KOR 1st
2 ROBERGE, Kalyna CAN 2nd
3 PARK, Seung-Hi KOR 3rd
Men 1500m Day 1
1 SUNG, Si-Bak KOR 1st
2 HAMELIN, Charles CAN 2nd
3 CONFORTOLA, Yuri ITA 3rd
Ladies 1500m Day 2
1 JUNG, Eun-Ju KOR 1st
2 YANG, Shin-Young KOR 2nd
3 ZHOU, Yang CHN 3rd
Men 1500m Day 2
1 AHN, Hyun-Soo KOR 1st
2 LEE, Ho-Suk KOR 2nd
3 MALONE, Jordan USA 3rd
Ladies Relay
1 CHINA 1st
2 ITALY 2nd
3 UNITED STATES 3rd
Men Relay
1 KOREA 1st
2 CANADA 2nd
3 ITALY 3rd
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