ID :
166726
Wed, 03/09/2011 - 08:26
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https://www.oananews.org//node/166726
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S. Korean short trackers get ready for world championships in England
SEOUL, March 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korean short trackers will look to end their season on a high note at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Sheffield, England, starting Friday.
At last year's world championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, South Korea won seven of the 10 gold medals up for grabs. Lee Ho-suk and Park Seung-hi were overall champions in men's and women's competitions, respectively.
But things have since gone downhill for short trackers. Immediately after the event, Lee Jung-su, a two-time gold medalist at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, accused his coaches of pressuring him to skip the world championships so that others who fixed national team trials and helped him make the national team could have a chance to win world titles.
Another race-fixing scandal emerged in December, when more than a dozen local high school coaches were charged with fixing results at a national competition so that their students could win medals and become eligible for athletic scholarships. The head coach of the men's national team had to resign under these allegations.
These race-rigging controversies led to an introduction of a new format called "time racing" at national team trials. In that format, skaters race alone and the ones with the fastest times earn their spots.
It ended up benefiting young, powerful but inexperienced skaters, while savvy veterans with good positioning skills were left out. These young skaters acquitted themselves with four golds, four silvers and one bronze medal at the Asian Winter Games in Kazakhstan in January.
Officials said Tuesday the picture isn't that much brighter today because of nagging injuries.
On the men's team, Sung Si-bak, one of the Vancouver holdovers, injured his left ankle in a collision at the Asian Winter Games and isn't fully healed. Um Cheon-ho, a gold medal winner from the Winter Asiad, has been skating on swollen ankles for weeks.
Among the women's team, Park Seung-hi and Cho Ha-ri are having back and knee problems.
"Our short track teams could fill up a hospital ward," said Kim Hyeong-beom, an official at the Korea Skating Union. "Um has gotten better, but he's only around 90 percent strength. But they know the importance of the championships, and all we can hope is that they go out there and give everything they have."
Lee Ho-suk, a two-time Olympian, will be joined by Um and Noh Jin-kyu, a double gold medal winner at the Winter Asiad, in individual races. Park, Cho and Yang Shin-young will race for the women's team.
The championships will end on Sunday.
At last year's world championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, South Korea won seven of the 10 gold medals up for grabs. Lee Ho-suk and Park Seung-hi were overall champions in men's and women's competitions, respectively.
But things have since gone downhill for short trackers. Immediately after the event, Lee Jung-su, a two-time gold medalist at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, accused his coaches of pressuring him to skip the world championships so that others who fixed national team trials and helped him make the national team could have a chance to win world titles.
Another race-fixing scandal emerged in December, when more than a dozen local high school coaches were charged with fixing results at a national competition so that their students could win medals and become eligible for athletic scholarships. The head coach of the men's national team had to resign under these allegations.
These race-rigging controversies led to an introduction of a new format called "time racing" at national team trials. In that format, skaters race alone and the ones with the fastest times earn their spots.
It ended up benefiting young, powerful but inexperienced skaters, while savvy veterans with good positioning skills were left out. These young skaters acquitted themselves with four golds, four silvers and one bronze medal at the Asian Winter Games in Kazakhstan in January.
Officials said Tuesday the picture isn't that much brighter today because of nagging injuries.
On the men's team, Sung Si-bak, one of the Vancouver holdovers, injured his left ankle in a collision at the Asian Winter Games and isn't fully healed. Um Cheon-ho, a gold medal winner from the Winter Asiad, has been skating on swollen ankles for weeks.
Among the women's team, Park Seung-hi and Cho Ha-ri are having back and knee problems.
"Our short track teams could fill up a hospital ward," said Kim Hyeong-beom, an official at the Korea Skating Union. "Um has gotten better, but he's only around 90 percent strength. But they know the importance of the championships, and all we can hope is that they go out there and give everything they have."
Lee Ho-suk, a two-time Olympian, will be joined by Um and Noh Jin-kyu, a double gold medal winner at the Winter Asiad, in individual races. Park, Cho and Yang Shin-young will race for the women's team.
The championships will end on Sunday.
