Hopes for a Canadian medal here are high, but these have not been Charles Hamelin's Olympics. Hamelin is the reigning world champion and ranked first in the World Cup standings in this discipline, but he has failed to medal in his first two races.
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Olympic Contenders: Men's 500-metre short track
- February 24, 2010 1:05 AM |
- By John Shmuel
Story provided by
Here is a look at Wednesday's mens's short track 500-metre short-track race, which gets underway at 8:47 p.m. ET:
The Contenders
In an unpredictable sport plagued with crashes, wipe outs and disqualifications, the 500-metre short track race is the sport's hardest race to call. Speed skaters here are at their most frantic. Right from the onset, it's a dash to pull ahead by the first turn.
Hopes for a Canadian medal here are high, but these have not been Charles Hamelin's Olympics. Hamelin is the reigning world champion and ranked first in the World Cup standings in this discipline, but he has failed to medal in his first two races. He hopes this event will be the start of a strong finish in Vancouver.
South Korea's Si-Bak Sung is currently the world record holder in men's 500-metre short track. He'll be one of Hamelin's main obstacles for gold in the event. Countryman Yoon-Gy Kwak is another podium hopeful. He's the reigning world silver medalist, and also ranked fourth on the World Cup circuit.
Finally, short track legend Apolo Ohno is the reigning Olympic gold medallist and the United States' primary medal hope. He already has a silver in the 1,500 metres and a bronze in the 1,000 metres in these Olympics.
The Top Five (Current World Cup rankings)
1. Charles Hamelin, Canada, 2328 pts
2. Francois-Louis Tremblay, Canada, 2024 pts
3. Si-Bak Sung, South Korea, 1608 pts
4. Yoon-Gy Kwak, South Korea, 1578 pts
5. Jialiang Han, China, 1472 pts
Canadian Medal Hopes
Francois-Louis Tremblay, 29, is another potential Canadian medal hope. He's the returning silver medalist from Turin, and ranked second in World Cup standings.
About the Author
- Bruce Arthur Bruce Arthur is the National Post's national sports columnist. A Vancouver native, he has been with the Post since 2001, and a columnist since 2005. He is covering his second Olympics, after the 2008 Games in Beijing. He expects these Games to be slightly less propagandistic, and for China to win slightly fewer medals.
- Joe O'Connor Joe O'Connor is a roving sports feature writer with an open-ended beat. He joined the National Post in 2002, and has spent the past seven years bouncing from sport to sport, offering fresh perspectives and delivering unique stories wherever he goes. Whether it has been getting Don Cherry to open up about his love life; George Chuvalo to talk about heartbreaking loss; or racing down the side of a mountain with former Crazy Canuck, Dave Irwin, the veteran Postie chases a story wherever it leads. Before joining the newspaper he was a two-time silver medalist at the National Magazine Awards. Vancouver will be his first Olympics.
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