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.

Donoghue Competes At Second ISU Junior World Cup

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Irish speed skater Tara Donoghue will race this weekend (27-28 January) at the International Skating Union (ISU) Junior World Cup Speed Skating in Innsbruck, Austria.

This will be Donoghue’s second competition of her debut season representing Ireland. In November 2017, she became the first Irish athlete to participate in a speed skating event when she took to the ice for the ISU Junior World Cup in Inzell, Germany.

Donoghue, who trains in the Netherlands, is entered in the 500 metres, 1000 metres, 1500 metres, 3000 metres and mass start events at the outdoor Olympiaworld Ice Rink oval in the city that hosted the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympic Games.

You can follow Donoghue’s progress in Austria on the Ice Skating Association of Ireland’s social media accounts and by using the #JWCSpeed and #SpeedSkating hashtags. Live streaming of the competition will be available here and schedule and results here.

Sean McAnuff Top 30 At Short Track Europeans

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Irish short track speed skater Sean McAnuff (20) has finished in 28th place overall on his debut at the European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Dresden, Germany.

McAnuff raced six times over the course of the three days of the championships inside the EnergieVerbund Arena. On Day One, he was in Heat 4 of the 1500 metres and came fourth in a time of 2:22.530. He also came fourth in Heat 3 of the 1500 metres ranking final the following day with a time of 2:23.560 to finish 27th for the distance.

The 500 metres saw him come fourth in his opening heat for that event in a time of 43.507. He won Heat 3 in the ranking finals with a time of 43.540 which put him in 33rd place out of all the skaters in the event.

The final discipline for McAnuff was the 1000 metres and he came third in Heat 7 with a time of 1:35.193. In Heat 4 of the 1000 metres ranking final, he took another first in a time of 1:34.319 leaving him in 27th place.

His overall ranking well inside the Top 32 means that he has secured two spots for Ireland in the men’s category at the 2019 European Short Track Speed Skating Championships which will be held in Dordrecht, Netherlands.

Sean McAnuff Makes European Short Track Debut

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Irish speed skater Sean McAnuff (20) will participate for the first time at the International Skating Union (ISU) European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Dresden, Germany this weekend (12-14 January 2018).

In January 2017, McAnuff was the first skater to represent Ireland at the World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Innsbruck, Austria. In the summer of 2017, he was awarded an ISU Development Programme Junior Scholarship. He was the first Irish skater to receive the scholarship.

McAnuff moved up to the senior ranks this season and competed in the four legs of the Audi ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating in the latter part of 2017. He also has been involved in nurturing the next generation of Irish short trackers through coaching at the Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) learn to short track speed skate course in Dublin this winter.

“I am excited to be at Europeans for the first time,” McAnuff said. “I am looking forward to going out there and racing against the best short track speed skaters that Europe has to offer.”

McAnuff will the second Irish short track speed skater to take part in a European Championships. His older brother Ryan competed last year when the event was held in Turin, Italy.

Over 130 athletes from 27 countries are scheduled to race at the EnergieVerbund Arena in Dresden. For only the second time in its 22 year history, the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships will have a single distance and all-round character. Skaters will compete over 500, 1000 and 1500 metre distances with a 3000 metre Super Final determining the all-round European champions.

Results for the championships can be found here. You can stay up to date with the championships by using the #EuroShortTrack and #ShortTrackSkating hashtags on social media. There will also be a live stream of the event on the ISU’s Skating Channel from lunchtime on 13 January.

ISU Junior World Cup Marks Irish Speed Skating Debut

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Tara Donoghue will make history for Ireland tomorrow when she races at the International Skating Union (ISU) Junior World Cup in Inzell, Germany.

The Irish national team member will make history as the first athlete to represent Ireland in an ISU speed skating event. She will also be the first female speed skater to compete for her country.

Donoghue will be one of 80 female skaters from 21 nations participating in the competition in Germany. Over the course of two days she will participate in the 500 metres, 1500 metres, 3000 metres and mass start events.

The ISU Junior World Cup Speed Skating will be staged over three legs this winter. After Inzell (25-26 November), Innsbruck, Austria will play host for the second stage on 27-28 January with the final being held in Salt Lake City, USA, on 2-4 March.

The results of this weekend’s Junior World Cup will be available here.