Irish Speed Skaters At Munich Open

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Kevin Hegarty and Laura Hegarty skated this weekend at the 10th Munich Open for short track speed skating. The event was held 4-5 March inside the Munich Olympic Ice Stadium.

Laura skated in the Girls Junior E category and Kevin skated in the Boys Junior C category. Both of them skated over two distances each with a total of nine races over the two days.

On the first day, Laura skated in the 500m heats with a personal best of 1:09.286 and improved it to 1:08.353 in winning her finals group to come 18th overall in a category of 24 participants. Kevin skated in the heats and finals of the 777m and came 9th overall with a personal best time of 1:41.322. At the end of the day, Laura skated in the 333m heats.

The second day of competition saw Laura winning her 333m semi-final and ended in the finals with an improved overall position of 13th and a new personal best time of 43.619 seconds. Kevin skated in the 500m heats and finals to finish 9th with a personal best of 1:04.193.

Both Kevin and Laura were participants in the ISAI speed skating camp in January and used what they learned there to great effect in Munich.

Irish Speed Skating In First Appearance At World Juniors

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Sean McAnuff (19) becomes the first skater to represent Ireland at the World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships this weekend in Innsbruck, Austria.

McAnuff will compete against 116 athletes from 35 countries across 500 metre, 1,000 metre and 1,500 metre distances in the Tyrolean city that hosted the 1964 and 1974 Winter Olympic Games. The event has been held annually since 1994 and features the best young short track speed skaters in the world.

“I am excited to be making my ISU Championship debut and to be the first skater from Ireland to compete at World Juniors is a huge honour,” McAnuff said.

The ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships begins Friday, 27 January and runs until Sunday, 29 January.

The competition will be streamed live on the ISU YouTube Channel.

Alternatively, keep up with the live results here.

Irish Speed Skater Makes European Championship Debut

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For the first time in the history of the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships, Ireland will be represented by an athlete when the 2017 edition kicks off in Turin, Italy later this week.

Ryan McAnuff (22) will be flying the flag for Ireland inside the iconic Palavela arena, 2006 Winter Olympics venue for short track and figure skating events, and will race against competitors from 25 other European countries. Medals will be up for grabs over the 500, 1,000 and 1,500 metre distances.

“I am so honoured to be the first person to represent Ireland at an ISU speed skating championship,” McAnuff said. “This competition will give me valuable experience racing against the best short trackers in Europe.”

The ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships begins Friday, 13 January and runs until Sunday, 15 January.

Live streaming on the ISU Skating Channel commences on Friday 13 January at 11:45, here.

Alternatively, keep up with the live results here.