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Irish Wolfhounds Wrap Up World Tour At Olympic Test Event

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After six events in five different countries across three continents, this weekend the Irish Wolfhounds closed out the ISU Short Track World Tour in Milan, Italy at the Unipol Forum, the short track speed skating and figure skating venue for next year’s Winter Olympic Games.

As always. the Wolfhounds got things under way with qualification day where they raced across three distances. Liam O’Brien was first up in Heat 6 where he was deemed by the referee to have impeded another skater and received a penalty. Sean McAnuff raced immediately after in Heat 7 crossing the line in fourth place with a time of 2:26.259.

The 500m preliminaries were next. The Wolfhounds were again drawn in back to back heats with O’Brien once again the first to take to the track in Heat 8 where he came fourth in a time of 42.363. McAnuff has been on fire in the 500 this season and was looking on course to another swift result when there was contact from another skater on the final lap. He took second place with a time of 42.525 and was eventually advanced to the Heats later on in the afternoon.

Last up for the first morning session were the 1000m preliminaries. McAnuff came third in Heat 4 with a time of 1:28.004. O’Brien was having an unlucky day as he and another skater collided in Heat 9 sending him crashing into the barriers. He got back up and came home in fourth in 1:51.916.

McAnuff returned for the opening afternoon session lining up in Heat 8. It was a swift and competitive race and he had to be content with sixth, but he did improve on his time from the morning recording 42.142.

The Wolfhounds were back on the second day for the 500m repechage quarterfinals. O’Brien was in Heat 5 where he wound up finishing in fifth place in a time of 42.633. In Heat 7, McAnuff lowered his time from the previous day to 42.043, but it placed him in fourth and was not enough to advance any further. He did rank 33rd in the final World Tour standing for the distance.

The final day of competition had McAnuff representing the Wolfhounds in the 1000m repechage quarterfinals. Drawn in Heat 3, he was in contention from the start and it was just the final lap where he lost ground to his competitors finishing in fourth. Nevertheless, his time of 1:26.283 was a new personal best and it closed out the Short Track World Tour for the Wolfhounds on a high note.

“It’s been a great season with the new identity and it definitely supports a bigger fanbase,” O’Brien said. “It’s great representing Ireland as always and the Irish Wolfhounds so I really enjoyed on the World Tour.

“It’s been great here,” O’Brien said about trying out the ice for the Olympic test event. “The venue is brilliant and the volunteers have been very helpful along the whole event. Hopefully I’ll be back here in a year’s time and competing for Ireland once again.”

“It went by super quick all the way to here in Milan,” McAnuff said reflecting on the World Tour. “We started out in Montreal, Canada and it has been a whirlwind. I would say personally I am very happy with my progression over the World Tours. Also with the new team identities it’s been really exciting for friends and family to follow along and cheer on the Irish Wolfhounds specifically. Honestly, it’s been a really quick, but great season and I’m excited to finish it here in Milan on World Tour Six.

“I hope to be back here in twelve months,” McAnuff continued. “I’m going to be working really hard over this off season and I want to be back here representing the Irish Wolfhounds and representing Ireland on the Olympic stage in under twelve months now, I guess.”

 

 

 

 

Irish Wolfhounds Look To Close Out World Tour With A Bang In Milan

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The ISU Short Track World Tour reaches its climax this weekend and eyes begin to look ahead to next season as the Irish Wolfhounds take on the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic test event in Milan, Italy.

Sean McAnuff (Co. Antrim) and Liam O’Brien (Co. Cavan) are coming off the back of some great racing last weekend in Tilburg, The Netherlands. McAnuff brought the 500m Irish record under 42 seconds for the first time ever and O’Brien set a new season best for the 1500m. They will contest the 500, 1000 and 1500 metre distances over three days inside the Unipol Forum vying against the best skaters from in the world at the arena that will host the short track speed skating and figure skating events at next year’s Olympics. It will present an opportunity for the Wolfhounds to get a taste of Olympic ice and act as a motivation to try and secure spots for Ireland later this year in the designated qualifying competitions.

“I hope to take away all the positives from last week and correct the smaller details,” O’Brien said. “It’s a great venue here and I will soak it all up before Olympic qualifiers next season.”

“It’s really exciting to be racing in the Olympic test event here in Milan,” McAnuff said. “The venue is huge and the Olympic atmosphere is here! I look forward to breaking new barriers this weekend by lowering my personal best times and furthering my defensive skating tactics. And to be honest, I have to say I’m really looking forward to enjoying a big pizza on Sunday evening!”

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 (Milan, Italy)

Friday, 14 February – Qualification Rounds

Saturday, 15 February – 500m/1500m

Sunday, 16 February – 1000m

Irish Wolfhounds Break New Ice In Tilburg

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The penultimate stop of the ISU Short Track World Tour in Tilburg, The Netherlands this weekend saw the Irish Wolfhounds move into new territory.

Qualification Day began with the 500m preliminaries. In Heat 1, Sean McAnuff fought hard throughout the race to cross the line in third in a time of 42.264 which was enough to put him through to the next round as just one of two fastest finishers. Liam O’Brien drew Heat 9 and raced hard ultimately having to settle for fourth place in a time of 42.804. In the 1000m prelimaries, McAnuff was again the first of the Wolfhounds in action in Heat 7. He was in contention for most of the race before finishing in fourth with a time of 1:30.852. O’Brien was up immediately after in Heat 8 and was holding his own until he had an unfortunate trip with four laps to go and placed fifth. The afternoon session began with the 1500m quarterfinals. In a highly competitive and swift Heat 1 O’Brien raced to a new season best time of 2:16.692 which left him in fifth place. For the 500m heats, McAnuff found himself in Heat 8 which turned out to be a dramatic and exciting affair. While others around him lost their heads, he kept his cool and was rewarded with first place in a time of 42.780 and spot in the quarterfinals the following day.

O’Brien was the first of Irish Wolfhounds to race on the second day of the competition in Heat 6 of the 1500m repechage quarterfinals. It was a cagey race and with five laps to go O’Brien crashed out to come fifth and 51st overall for the distance. His next shot was the 500m repechage quarterfinals to see if he could join McAnuff in the afternoon’s quarterfinals. The race had to be stopped and restarted twice due to collisions on the first corner. When the heat did get under way at the third time of asking, O’Brien slotted into third and remained there until the end in a time of 42.573 narrowly off his season best for 39th place in the overall distance classification. In his only race of the day, McAnuff was the first Irish Wolfhound this season to advance to a World Tour main session and the history making did not end there. In a high paced Heat 1, McAnuff gave it everything he had and came fifth with a new Irish record of 41.989, the first Irish skater to break 42 seconds for the 500m. He finished 16th in the distance.

The Irish Wolfhounds took on the 1000m repechage on the final day of the competition. O’Brien got things started for the Irish in Heat 2 of the repechage quarterfinals and returned home fifth in a time of 1:28.755 for 49th place overall in the distance. McAnuff appeared in Heat 5 and finished third in a time of 1:28.932 giving him a distance classification of 38th.

“I am very proud of this my racing this weekend in Tilburg,” McAnuff said. “I skated confidently in every race and kept skating until well over the line. It definitely paid off and I am pleased with my new 500m personal best time as well as a 16th overall finish in the 500m. I was able to put to the test my defence capabilities this weekend. This was significant to me as it was a prominent weakness I identified over the course of the season thus far and I have worked hard to improve it.”

There is no rest for the Irish Wolfhounds as they are back on the ice for the final stage of the ISU Short Track World Tour next weekend in Milan, Italy which will also serve as the test event for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Games.

Irish Wolfhounds Back In The Hunt For Tilburg World Tour

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The Irish Wolfhounds resume racing this weekend (7-9 February) as the ISU Short Track World Tour  moves to Europe for the penultimate stop in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Sean McAnuff (Co. Antrim) and Liam O’Brien (Co. Cavan) will contest the 500, 1000 and 1500 metre distances over three days inside the IJssportcentrum in the Dutch city competing against the best skaters from all over the world.

“It’s the first competition of 2025 for me and I’m looking to build on the season I’ve had so far,” O’Brien said. “This competition I’m looking to improve my times across all the distances and to move up in the rankings.”

“I started racing this season in the Netherlands and am happy to be back here for World Tour #5,” McAnuff said. “My goals this weekend are to improve my 1000m personal best time as well as achieve a new best overall finish in the 500m or 1000m distance.”

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 (Tilburg, The Netherlands)

Friday, 7 February – Qualification Rounds

Saturday, 8 February – 500m/1500m

Sunday, 9 February – 1000m

McAnuff With Lots To Takeaway From Fifth Appearance At Short Track Euros

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Sean McAnuff (27) marked his return to the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships this weekend with a series of races against the best skaters Europe has to offer after missing out due to injury last season.

McAnuff got things under way with the qualification rounds on the opening day of the event. He was drawn in Heat 3 of the 1500m quarterfinals which turned into a swift affair. Despite crossing the line in sixth, he notched up a season best time of 2:18.158. In the 500m heats, he began from the outside in Heat 9 and ultimately finished in 3rd place with a time of 42.635. It was also Heat 9 for him in the 1000m heats where he ended up coming fourth in a time of 1:31.254.

McAnuff faced in the 1500m and 500m repechage rounds on the second day of the championships. In the 1500m repechage quarterfinals, he just missed out on automatic qualification when he came third in Heat 1. However, his time of 2:20.402 was enough to earn him a small q and another go round in the 1500m repechage semifinals. He fought hard in Heat 1 putting in a great effort to come second in a time of 2:23.162. Unfortunately, he just missed out on advancing to the main session and was classified 24th for the distance. Heat 5 of the 500m repechage quarterfinals did not go according to plan as he collided with another athlete and crashed out of the race. He received a penalty for the incident leaving him ranked 43rd for the distance.

On the last day of racing, McAnuff took on the 1000m repechage quarterfinals. In a tightly fought Heat 2, he placed fifth with a time of 1:28.818 bringing his fifth Europeans to a close.

“I am very proud of my 1500m finish this weekend,” McAnuff said. “I raced smart, fought hard, and didn’t give up! I came out with my best overall finish in what is typically my weakest distance. This was the highlight of the weekend for me. I was also able to give my all in the 1000m and 500m, though I wasn’t able to achieve the results I was striving for due to some mistakes in my racing strategy, I was able to take away a good analysis of how I can improve my weaknesses and that is always a big help in future preparations. Now it’s time to get working in anticipation for World Tour 5 and 6!”

McAnuff To Get 2025 Under Way At Short Track Euros

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Sean McAnuff (27) lines up this weekend at the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Dresden, Germany (17-19 January).

This will be McAnuff’s fifth time competing at Europeans. He had to sit out the entirety of last season due injury, but has been in fine form on his return to competition lowering the 500 metre Irish national record at last month’s ISU Short Track World Tour event in Seoul, South Korea. He will be among a field of over 120 athletes from 25 countries racing for top honours at an event that was first held in 1997. Skaters race against each other over 500, 1000 and 1500 metre distances.

“I am pleased to be starting off 2025 at the European Championships,” McAnuff said. “It’s a great opportunity to showcase the progress I have made over the last training period since World Tours 3 and 4. My goal is to have a personal best overall finish in each individual distance.”

The ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships will be broadcast on the Skating 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.

Milestones And Memories Abundant For Irish Ice Skating In 2024

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2024 started with a bang back in January when Ireland was represented at not one, but two European Championships early on in the month. Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus become the first ice dancers to compete on behalf of Ireland in the history the European Figure Skating Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania. They finished in 13th place, the best ever finish for Irish skaters at the event. In addition, Margery Hilko became the first Irish judge to officiate at a European Figure Skating Championships. She was also a judge at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Shanghai, China a few weeks later. Liam O’Brien lined up for his third European Short Track Speed Skating Championships, all of which have taken place in Gdansk, Poland. The highlight of the weekend of racing was advancing to the 1000m quarterfinals. Outside of the month’s championships, Dillon Judge got the year off to a start with a seventh place at the Volvo Open Cup in Riga, Latvia.

After their successful debut at Europeans, Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus kept the momentum up in February by winning Irish ice dance’s first international medal, a bronze at the Egna Trophy in Italy. Dillon Judge had a hectic month competing at both the Dragon Trophy in Ljublana, Slovenia and Challenge Cup in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

March is always a special month for the Irish and this year was no exception. Dillon Judge and Sophia Tkacheva flew the flag at the inaugural Sonia Henie Trophy in Oslo, Norway. Liam O’Brien closed his season on a positive note at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Rotterdam, The Netherlands where he notched up new Irish records in both the 500m and 1000m distances, the latter appropriately enough on St Patrick’s Day. Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus made history once again as they became the first ice dancers to represent Ireland at the World Figure Skating Championships when this year’s edition was held in Montreal, Canada. They qualified for the free dance and claimed 20th place in the final standings.

In April, Deirdre Costello was appointed the ISAI National Child Officer. Dillon Judge rounded out his international season at Triglav Trophy in Jesenice, Slovenia where he picked up a bronze medal.

June signalled the end of the 2023/2024 season. ISAI delegates were involved in the important work of the 59th ISU Congress in Las Vegas, United Stated of America. The Irish Figure Skating Championships were held at the Dundee Ice Arena for the third consecutive year with titles decided in three categories.

2024 Irish Junior Women’s champion Allie Peterson had a busy August making her international debut at the Cranberry Cup in Norwood, United States of America, before participating in her first ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Riga, Latvia.

Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus got the 2024/2025 season off to a cracking start with a fifth place at Lombardia Trophy in Bergamo, Italy. The ISAI’s Annual General Meeting took place on 25 September in Dublin where members were informed of a new club affiliation process and a realignment of the membership year among other topics. Saoirse O’Sullivan made her ISU Junior Grand Prix debut in Gdansk, Poland.

October was mostly all about short track! Sean McAnuff and Liam O’Brien got their seasons under way respectively at the Dutch Open in Heerenveen, The Netherlands and Shanghai Trophy in Shanghai, China. Ryan McAnuff joined the aforementioned two skaters in Montreal, Canada at the end of the month for the inaugural ISU Short Track World Tour and the first racing under the exciting new Irish Wolfhounds team identity. Saoirse O’Sullivan was the sole figure skating national team member in action over the course of month when she competed at Tayside Trophy in Dundee, United Kingdom.

The Irish Wolfhounds completed a second ISU Short Track World Tour event in Montreal, Canada on the first weekend of November, while at home the Emerald Skate Learn to Skate lessons began at Dundrum On Ice. Dillon Judge, Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus, Saoirse O’Sullivan and Sophia Tkacheva formed the Irish contingent at the Denkova-Staviski Cup in Sofia, Bulgaria. Soucisse and Firus were in action a second week in a row at Tallinn Trophy in Tallinn, Estonia. Judge garnered a bronze medal at the Lounakeskus Trophy in Tartu, Estonia.

Sean McAnuff and Liam O’Brien began the Asian leg of the ISU Short Track World Tour in Beijing, China before moving onto Seoul, South Korea the following weekend where McAnuff set a new Irish 500m record. At the Edusport Trophy in Otopeni, Romania, Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus wrapped up 2024 with a bronze medal, fittingly enough on World Ice Skating Day.

We look forward to an even brighter year in 2025 for Irish ice skating!

 

Irish Wolfhounds Wrap Up Asian Leg Of World Tour

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The Irish Wolfhounds ended their racing for 2024 at the  stage fourth stage of this season’s ISU Short Track World Tour in Seoul, South Korea this weekend.

As always Sean McAnuff (Co. Antrim) and Liam O’Brien (Co. Cavan) began on the opening day with qualification rounds in all three distances. The Wolfhounds were drawn in back-to-back heats in the 1500m heats. O’Brien came home fifth in Heat 6 with a time of 2:27.019, while McAnuff was also fifth in Heat 7 in a time of 2:23.526.

In the 500m preliminaries, McAnuff raced superbly in Heat 4 to clinch second place in a time of 42.555 and advance to the heats later in the day. O’Brien contested Heat 7 and was fourth in a time of 42.984. For the 500m heats, McAnuff found himself in a swift Heat 4 and finished fifth with a time of 42.232.

Last up were the 1000m preliminaries and O’Brien was first of the Irish up in Heat 2. He closed out his account for the qualifiers with a fourth place and a time of 1:30.259. McAnuff showed up in Heat 10 and narrowly missed out on advancing again as he came third in a time of 1:32.518.

The Irish Wolfhounds took on the 1500m and 500m repechages on the second day of the event. In Heat 4 of the 1500m repechage quarterfinals, O’Brien was positive from the start as he vied for the lead on the first seven laps. After contact with another skater, O’Brien lost momentum and initially crossed the line at the end in seventh with a time of 2:32.141. The skater who had made contact with O’Brien was penalised and O’Brien advanced to the 1500m repechage semifinals. McAnuff came 5th in a time of 2:29.495 in Heat 6. O’Brien wound up in a cagey affair in 1500m repechages semifinals Heat 2 and finished sixth with a time of 2:44.018.

It was then on to the 500m repechage quarterfinals for the Irish Wolfhounds. McAnuff smashed the Irish record in Heat 2 lowering it to 42.126 and earning him second place. O’Brien was fifth in Heat 6 with a time of 43.160.

The Irish Wolfhounds were back on the last day of competition for the 1000m repechages. In repechage quarterfinal Heat 1, McAnuff rounded out his competition with a fifth place in a time of 1:29.624. O’Brien tied things up for Team Ireland with a third place in Heat 7 clocking a time of 1:27.844.

“This was the final competition of 2024 and I am happy with my results,” McAnuff said. “I broke my personal best time as I skated to a new Irish record in the 500m distance. I felt very motivated by how competitive I was able to be in my races. Going into 2025, I am going to be focusing on improving my ability to defend my position while racing.”

“I felt a lot better this weekend about my racing overall,” O’Brien said. “Unfortunately, I didn’t have a great first day and that makes it harder going through the repechages. But I am happy with the way I batted through the races. I’ll take this approach to racing into the new calendar year and build on my confidence alongside it.

The ISU Short Track World Tour takes a pause until February when it concludes with stops in Tilburg, The Netherlands (7-9 February) and Milan, Italy (14-16 February).

Irish Wolfhound Line Up For Seoul World Tour Event

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After their exploits last weekend in China, the Irish Wolfhounds have moved on this weekend (13-15 December) to the next stop of the ISU Short Track World Tour in Seoul, South Korea.

Sean McAnuff (Co. Antrim) and Liam O’Brien (Co. Cavan) will race against the best skaters in the world in the 500, 1000 and 1500 metre distances over three days inside the Mokdong Ice Rink to round competing in 2024. They will be aiming to end the year on a positive note.

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 (Seoul, South Korea)

Friday, 13 December – Qualification Rounds

Saturday, 14 December – 500m/1500m

Sunday, 15 December – 1000m

Mixed Fortunes For Irish Wolfhounds At Beijing World Tour

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The Irish Wolfhounds had a mixed bag of results at the third stage of this season’s ISU Short Track World Tour in Beijing, China this weekend.

In the qualification rounds on the opening day of the event, Sean McAnuff (Co. Antrim) and Liam O’Brien (Co. Cavan) raced in all three distances. O’Brien was first of the Irish skaters on the track in Heat 3 of the 1500m. He managed to stay ahead of a pile up that took a number of skaters out, but on the third last lap he collided with another skater and crashed into the barriers. He got back to complete the race in a time of  3:07.018 for fourth place. McAnuff was also right in contention in Heat 5 when going into the third last lap he slipped off course. He returned home in a time of 2:51.713 to come fifth.

The Irish were drawn in back to back heats of the 500m preliminaries. McAnuff got the ball rolling in Heat 4. In a swift race, he finished fifth in a new personal best of 42.183. O’Brien arrived on the ice immediately after in Heat 5 and was fourth in a time of 43.464.

The Wolfhounds faced the 1000m preliminaries to end qualification day and O’Brien found himself in Heat 2. He finished in fourth place with a time of 1:27.337. McAnuff lined up in Heat 4 and came fourth with a time of 1:26.505.

The Irish skaters took on the 1500m and 500m repechages on the second day of the event. In Heat 3 of the 1500m repechage quarterfinals, O’Brien narrowly missed out on advancing when crossed the line in third place with a time of 2:25.159. McAnuff was up right after in Heat 4 and he finished fourth in a time of 2:21.095. It was then on to the 500m repechage quarterfinals for O’Brien. He was on the back foot from the start in Heat 6 and never got into contention. He had to settle for fourth in a time of 44.715.

McAnuff and O’Brien were back on the last day of competition for the 1000m repechage quarterfinals. In Heat 4, McAnuff took fifth place with a time of 1:28.592. O’Brien followed in Heat 5 and he wrapped up Ireland’s account with a fourth place in a time of 1:28.620.

“The racing didn’t go as I had planned and there’s still a lot of work to go,” O’Brien said. “I am happy with the experience I gained this week and am ready to use it all to get a better result next week.”

“I was very proud to achieve my goal of a new personal best time, which ended up being in the 500m,” McAnuff said. “I had some races I was proud of and also some that revealed areas I need to improve, primarily in my racing strategy. I am holding my head high and am very excited to head to Seoul, South Korea for the fourth stop of the World Tour this week.”