Tara Donoghue Embarks On Second Junior World Cup Season

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In her second season on the International Skating Union (ISU) Junior World Cup Speed Skating circuit, Tara Donoghue (16) will be participating in the series opener this weekend (24-25 November) in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland.

Last season, Donoghue became the first female speed skater and the first long track speed skater to represent Ireland internationally. Last month she broke her own Irish national record in the 1500 metres to secure the qualifying time for the distance at the Junior World Cup Final and the Junior World Championships.

The Irish skater, who is based in the Netherlands, will be aiming to improve on her personal bests over a number of distances during the course of the weekend.

You can follow Donoghue’s progress live via the ISU Skating Channel and via the #JWCSpeed and #SpeedSkating hashtags.

Sean McAnuff Wraps Up Second World Cup

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For the second consecutive week, Sean McAnuff participated in a World Cup Short Track Speed Skating competition when he travelled to Salt Lake City in the United States.

McAnuff began the event with the preliminaries of the 1000 metres (1) race where he was drawn in Heat 4 and came fourth in a time of 1:29.067.

Next up were the preliminaries of the 500 metres in which McAnuff was placed in Heat 9. He finished fourth in a time of 43.461.

He was back in action in the 1000 metres (1) repechage quarterfinal where he came fifth with a time of 1:28.962. He was classified 35th overall for the distance.

The final race for McAnuff of the tournament was the 500 metres repechage quarterfinal. He came very close to breaking the Irish national record that he set last weekend clocking 42.401 and finishing in third in Heat 2. His distance classification was 32nd.

“There are a lot of positives to take from this weekend,” McAnuff said. “In particular, in my final 500 metre race I set a new record for my fastest lap time ever.”

Sean McAnuff In Second World Cup At Salt Lake City

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For the second week in a row, Sean McAnuff will compete at an International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup Short Track Speed Skating event this weekend (9-11 November) when he races at the Utah Olympic Oval in Salt Lake City, United States of America.

The Irish short track speed skater is coming off the back of setting two new national records in Calgary, Canada last week over the 500 and 1000 metres in what was his season opener. He will step on to the ice for the preliminary rounds on Friday 9 November with racing opportunities also over the course of the following two days.

“I am feeling really positive for this World Cup after setting those new Irish records in Calgary,” McAnuff said. “I hope to have an even better set of races this weekend.”

You can follow the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating live on the ISU’s YouTube and Skating channels, the results page and on social media using the #WCShortTrack #ShortTrackSkating and #OneHandDown hashtags.

Sean McAnuff Breaks Two Irish Records At Calgary World Cup

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Irish short track speed skater Sean McAnuff broke two national records at the International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup in Calgary, Canada over the weekend.

McAnuff began his season debut by knocking half a second off his personal best in the 500 metres preliminary rounds in a time of 42.833. In the repechage quarterfinals the following day, he further lowered that time to 42.191, a new Irish senior record. He placed 39th overall for the distance.

In the 1000 metres, he posted a time of 1:29.154 in his prelimary round race. He was significantly quicker in the repechage quarterfinals and smashed his personal best by one and a half seconds and the Irish record by one whole second in a time of 1:26.718. He was ranked 32nd overall.

“I have gained a lot of confidence from this event,” McAnuff said. “I believe I have to advance further, achieve more competitive times and learn from each race I am in.”

Sean McAnuff To Open Season At Calgary World Cup

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Sean McAnuff (21) will make his season debut as Ireland’s sole representative at this weekend’s International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup Short Track Speed Skating in Calgary, Canada (2-4 November).

In January, McAnuff finished 28th at the European Championships in Dresden, Germany to earn two berths for the 2019 edition in Dordrecht, Netherlands. This season he will be aiming to build on his performance and move up the global standings.

“I am really looking forward to the season ahead,” he said. “I will try to give it my all in each race and hopefully the results will go my way.”

The weekend’s event in Calgary will be the first of five World Cup events across three continents. McAnuff will compete in three individual distances – the 500 metres, the 1000 metres and the 1500 metres.

The event will be live streamed on the ISU Skating Channel (geo blocking may apply in certain territories) and for the first time ever, live streams will be available in certain territories on social media platforms, follow us on social media to find out more.

For further information on Short Track Speed Skating, visit https://www.isu.org/short-track.

Tara Donoghue Breaks Irish Record At Berlin International Race

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Irish speed skater Tara Donoghue (16) wrote herself into the history books once more when she set a new Irish record in the International Race in Berlin, Germany over the weekend.

Donoghue competed in two distances at the competition held at the Eisschelllaufhalle Sportforum in the German capital. She raced a season’s best of 44.18 for the 500 metres to finish fifth, but it was in the 1500 metres where she set a new Irish record of 2:11.76 to come second. The latter time also put her under the qualifying time necessary for the distance at the Junior World Cup Final and the Junior World Speed Skating Championships.

Donoghue, who is based in the Netherlands, now has her sights set on obtaining the qualifying time for the 1000 metres. She will compete again at the ISU Junior World Cup in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland.

2018-2019 Irish Speed Skating Team Announced

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The selection of the Irish Speed Skating National Team for the 2018-2019 season has been made by the Board of Directors of the Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI).

The ISAI has selected the following members to compete in International Skating Union (ISU) speed skating events for the 2018-2019 season:

Speed Skating

Tara Donoghue

Short Track Speed Skating

Ryan McAnuff

Sean McAnuff

Tara Donoghue made history last season by becoming the first long track and first female speed skater to represent Ireland in international competition. She made her debut for Ireland in November 2017 at the Junior World Cup in Inzell, Germany.

Ryan McAnuff participated at World Short Track Speed Skating Championships last season for the second time. He finished 35th overall at the event.

Sean McAnuff appeared at the European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in January 2018 for the first time. By finishing 28th, he secured two spots for Ireland at the 2019 edition.

Ryan McAnuff 35th At World Short Track

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Ryan McAnuff has finished 35th overall at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Montreal, Canada this weekend.

McAnuff opened his competition on the first day with the heats and preliminaries of his three distances. In Heat 5 of the 1500 metres, he clocked a time of 2:22.170 to finish fifth. The 500 metres saw him come third in Heat 7 in a time of 43.228. His final race on the opening session was the 1000 metres and he finished fourth in Heat 2 with a time of 1:32.011.

On the second day of competition, McAnuff appeared in two ranking finals. Heat 3 of the 1500 metres was a closely fought affair and he ended up in fourth place in a time of 2:34.988. He also finished fourth in the 500 metres in Heat 6 with a time of 44.205.

The final race of the championships for McAnuff was the 1000 metres ranking final on the third day of action. He closed out his campaign in a time of 1:30.650 in Heat 3 in which he placed second.

McAnuff improved on his 36th place finish at last year’s World to end up 35th overall at this year’s event. This means that he will wear the number 35 on his helmet at his races next season.

“I am happy that I was able to improve on my placing from last year,” McAnuff said. “I am looking forward to finishing even stronger next season.”

Ryan McAnuff On Track For Montreal Worlds

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Ryan McAnuff (23) will represent Ireland at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Montreal, Canada this Saint Patrick’s weekend (16-18 March).

This will be the second time McAnuff has appeared at the event. Last year, he finished 36th overall at the 2017 edition in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He will be lining up with skaters from 33 countries over 500, 1000 and 1500 metre distances. A 3000 metre Super Final will determine the all-round World champions.

“I have developed as a competitor since I last competed at Worlds,” McAnuff said. “I am really eager to get out there and race now.”

McAnuff will begin his competition with the preliminary rounds on Friday 16 March through which he will have to navigate to progress.

Results for the championships can be found here. You can stay up to date with the championships by using the #WorldShortTrack and #ShortTrackSkating hashtags on social media. A live stream will also be on the ISU Skating Channel.

Donoghue Sets Three National Records At Junior World Cup

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Irish speed skater Tara Donoghue competed this weekend at the ISU Junior World Cup Speed Skating in Innsbruck, Austria and set new Irish records in three of her races.

On the first day of competition, Donoghue skated in Pair 3 of the 1,000 metres and laid down a new Irish record of 1:29.22 for the distance. She finished in 31st place.

Her second race of Day 1 was the 3,000 metres for which she was also drawn in Pair 3. She posted a time of 4:50.59 which was another Irish record and good enough for 17th place overall.

Donoghue had three races on Day 2. First up was the 500 metres which saw her start in Pair 6. She set yet another Irish record of 44.86 which put her in 32nd.

In the 1,500 metres, she recorded a time of 2;16.67 to finish in 27th place overall.

Her final race was the mass start where she raced against 24 other skaters and came 12th in a time of 5:58.75.

Detailed results for the event are available here.