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Short track speed skating (also Shorttrack speedskating) is a form of ice skating akin to speed skating. In competitions, a number of skaters (typically 4 to 6) skate simultaneously on a short indoor ice track (111 m). The sport is held at the Olympic Winter Games.

History

The sport of short track speed skating originates in the speed skating events held with mass starts. This form of speed skating was mainly practised in the United States and Canada, as opposed to the international form, where skaters skated in pairs. At the 1932 Olympic Winter Games, speed skating events were conducted in mass start form. Competitions in North America were also held indoors, for example in Madison Square Garden, New York, and therefore on shorter tracks than was usual for outdoor skating.

In 1967, the International Skating Union (ISU) adopted short track speed skating, although it would take some time before it started to organise international events, in 1976. World Championships are held since 1981 (though earlier event later also received that status). At the 1988 Olympic Winter Games, held in Calgary, Canada, short track was a demonstration sport. The status was upgraded to a full Olympic sport four years later, and short track speed skating has been an Olympic sport since.

Canada has long been a dominant country in the sport, but currently the sport is highly popular in many Asian countries, notably The People's Republic of China, South Korea and Japan, which has its reflections on the international events. Through the smaller ice tracks and shorter, often spectacular, competitions, short track speed skating has grown bigger than its older brother, (long track) speed skating in many countries.

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2006 Winter Olympics medal count Pos Country Gold Silver Bronze Total 1  Germany 11 12 6 29 2  United States 9 9 7 25 3  Austria 9 7 7 23 4  Russia 8 6 8 22 5  Canada 7 10 7 24 6  Sweden 7 2 5 14 7  Korea 6 3 2 11 8  Switzerland 5 4 5 14 9  Italy 5 0 6 11 10  France 3 2 4 9  Netherlands 3 2 4 9 12  Estonia 3 0 0 3 13  Norway 2 8 9 19 14  China 2 4 5 11 15  Czech Republic 1 2 1 4 16  Croatia 1 2 0 3 17  Australia 1 0 1 2 18  Japan 1 0 0 1 19  Finland 0 6 3 9 20  Poland 0 1 1 2 21  Belarus 0 1 0 1  Bulgaria 0 1 0 1  Great Britain 0 1 0 1  Slovakia 0 1 0 1 25  Ukraine 0 0 2 2 26  Latvia 0 0 1 1     84 84 84 252

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