On Saturday, February 10, at 5 a.m. ET, the Olympic Short Track Speed Skating competition kicks off at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Short Track Speed Skating is the sister of Speed Skating, another sport at this year’s Games.
Both competitions involve whizzing around an oval-shaped ice rink again and again at dizzying speeds of up to 36 miles per hour. The difference? As the name suggests, short track speed skaters compete on a shorter track with tighter corners that are more difficult to maneuver. They also compete in packs of people, rather than in pairs neatly organized into lanes. These differences may seem minor, but they’re significant enough that skaters rarely compete in both sports.
Short Track Speed Skating’s most famous Olympic moment happened at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. For the majority of the men’s 1000-meter race, Australia’s Steven Bradbury was trailing behind his competitors. Then at the last minute, the four other finalists in front of him face-planted into the ice. Instead of coming in dead last, Bradbury miraculously scored Australia’s first gold medal at the Winter Olympics.
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As for the 2018 Games, the U.S. has eight short track speed skaters vying for the gold in Pyeongchang. One of them, Lana Gehring, reportedly took up speed skating after trying (and failing) to land the fancy jumps integral to figure skating. Another one, Thomas Hong, was almost born on the ice; according to his family, his mom went into labor at a rink his sister was speed skating at, The Washington Post reports. He’s basically been preparing for the Games since he was in the womb, so it’ll be exciting to watch him and the rest of the U.S. team race to the finish line.
Here’s the schedule of Short Track Speed Skating events and how you can tune in.
For the entire Olympic Winter Games schedule, click here.
Full Schedule
Saturday, Feb. 10
Men: 1500m qualification heats — 5 a.m. ET
Women: 500m qualification heats — 5 a.m. ET
Women: 3000m relay qualification heats — 5 a.m. ET
Tuesday, Feb. 13
Women: 500m qualification heats — 5 a.m. ET
Men: 1000m qualification heats — 5 a.m. ET
Men: 5000m relay qualification heats — 5 a.m. ET
Saturday, Feb. 17
Women: 1500m finals — 5 a.m. ET
Men: 1000m finals — 5 a.m. ET
Tuesday, Feb. 20
Men: 500m qualification heats — 5 a.m. ET
Women: 1000m qualification heats — 5 a.m. ET
Women: 3000m relay finals — 5 a.m. ET
Thursday, Feb. 22
Men: 500m finals — 5 a.m. ET
Women: 1000m finals — 5 a.m. ET
Men: 5000m relay finals — 5 a.m. ET
How to Watch on TV
The Olympic Games will all be broadcast on NBC, NBCSN and across NBC Universal networks. For full detailed TV listings, check out NBCOlympics.com.
Here’s a full schedule of Olympic events.
How to Live Stream
All events will be live-streamed on NBCOlympics.com.
