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O’Brien Closes Out Season Of Highs And Lows At Worlds

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Earlier today Liam O’Brien (24) brought the curtain down on his season of racing at the KB ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Seoul, South Korea.

O’Brien began his campaign with the qualification rounds on Day One of the championships. He opened with a new personal best time of 2:15.543 in the 1500 metres quarterfinals coming fourth in Heat 5. He next lined up in Heat 3 of the 500 metres preliminaries where he finished fifth in a time of 42.872. He wrapped things up with the 1000 metres preliminaries coming fifth place clocking 1:27.569 in Heat 3.

Day Two saw O’Brien race in two repechage distances. In the 1500 metres repechage quarterfinals, he was contending for a qualifying spot throughout a very tactical Heat 3 and was unfortunate not to advance as he placed third in a slow time of 2:33.614. He was also third in Heat 6 of the 500 metres repechage quarterfinals with a time of 43.516.

There was just one distance for O’Brien to contest on the final day of the championships. He crossed the line in a time of 1:31.859 for third again in Heat 5 of the 1000 metres repechage quarterfinals.

“The season has come to an end now for me,” O’Brien said. “Just like all the other competitions this season it was another learning curve and I will take it all into the off-season.”

O’Brien Seoul Competitor For Ireland At Short Track Worlds

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Liam O’Brien (24) is all set to close out the season this weekend (10-12 March) as he represents Ireland at the KB Financial Group ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Seoul, South Korea.

The Irish skater will be among a field of over 80 athletes from 34 countries racing for top honours in the men’s category. The World Short Track Championships were first held back in 1976. Ireland has been represented at every edition held since 2017.

O’Brien will begin the championships in the early hours of the morning Irish time on Friday, 10 March with the qualifications rounds of the 500, 1000 and 1500 metres distances. Subsequent rounds, quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will take place on Saturday, 11 March and Sunday, 12 March.

This will be the third consecutive appearance at Worlds for O’Brien.

“I hope to represent Ireland strongly and progress into the main event on Saturday and Sunday.”

As O’Brien trains in South Korea, he will not have to adjust too much in terms of the environment.

“It feels a little different with Worlds being held only an hour away from my training base. I hope to build on my performance throughout the season.”

The KB Financial Group ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships will be broadcast online on the ISU YouTube channel. Geographical restrictions may apply. The results of the championships can be followed on the event results page and on social media via the #ShortTrackSkating hashtag.