Irish Wolfhounds Ready To Start Hunt For Olympic Quota Places In Montreal
Sean McAnuff (Co. Antrim) and Liam O’Brien (Co. Cavan) embark on their quest to secure Ireland a spot at the Milano-Cortina Olympic Games when the Irish Wolfhounds line up for the first ISU Short Track World Tour event of the season in Montreal, Canada this week (9-12 October).
The two Irish skaters race across three distances (500, 1000 and 1500 metres) on the four stops of this season’s tour. There is a second round in Montreal next week (16-19 October) before the final two legs in Gdansk, Poland (20-23 November) and Dordrecht, The Netherlands (27-30 November). The goal for McAnuff and O’Brien will be to advance as far through the rounds as they can accumulating ranking points that count towards the standings in each of the three distances. There are 32 individual Olympic quota places available in the 500 and 1000 and 36 in the 1500.
“I’m excited to race again after not racing since the Olympic test event last season,” O’Brien said. “I’ve made a big change over the off-season to train in China and hope to show off everything I’ve learnt and been working on during this time. The ultimate goal is to help towards qualifying Ireland a quota spot for Milan 2026.”
“This season isn’t just about chasing my Olympic dream,” McAnuff said. “It’s about continuing the story my family started with short track speed skating in Ireland. After a decade of pursuing growth in the sport, I get the chance to honour where this dream began and who I skate for.”
The ISU Short Track World Tour can be followed live on the Skating ISU YouTube channel and via the #ShortTrackWorldTour and #ShortTrackSkating hashtags on social media.
Competition Schedule (Montreal, Canada)
Thursday, 9 October – Qualification Rounds
Friday, 10 October – Qualification Rounds
Saturday, 11 October – 500m/1500m
Sunday, 12 October – 1000m
