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2023/2024 Speed Skating National Team Announced

Three speed skaters have been named by the Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) to represent Ireland during the 2023/2024 season.

Ryan McAnuff has been a National Team member since 2016 when, along with his brother Sean, they became the first speed skaters to compete for Ireland in international competition. He is a University of Limerick medical school graduate and is currently a resident physician in Hamilton, Canada.

“It is again an honour to represent Ireland for this upcoming short track speed skating season,” Ryan McAnuff said. “I am looking forward to competing alongside my teammates against the fastest skaters in the world. This season I look to continue to be competitive on the global stage as well as continue to enjoy racing, travelling, connecting with fellow racers and representing Ireland.”

This is the eighth consecutive season Sean McAnuff has been selected for the National Team. He made it to the quarterfinals in the 500 metres at the 2023 European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Gdansk, Poland and placed 19th in the distance, his best ever result at Europeans. Since December 2020, he has been training in Budapest, Hungary.

“I feel privileged to represent Ireland again this year,” Sean McAnuff said. “It has been a long journey of now eight years representing the country and I am excited to have another year to improve and bring more awareness to the sport in Ireland. This season I have the goal of training smarter and more effectively. I plan to skate new record times and work hard in order to achieve my maximum potential through focusing on technique improvement and racing with confidence!”

Liam O’Brien has been a National Team member since 2019. At the 2023 European Short Track Speed Skating Championships, he advanced to the semi-finals of the 1500 metres for the first time. He also represented Ireland at the 2023 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Seoul, Republic of Korea. He currently trains in Seongnam, Republic of Korea.

“As always, I am delighted to be selected and given the chance to represent Ireland,” O’Brien said. “Last season had an unfortunate ending and I have gone away and worked hard to improve my abilities over the off-season. My goals for this season are to not only improve on personal bests, but to gain higher field ranking and to be competitive against the best in the world.

National Team Members (Short Track Speed Skating):

Senior Men – Ryan McAnuff (County Antrim), Sean McAnuff (County Antrim), Liam O’Brien (County Cavan)

You can learn more about our national team members here.

O’Brien Seoul Competitor For Ireland At Short Track Worlds

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.

Trio of Speed Skaters for 2022/2023 Irish Team

Three speed skaters have been selected to represent Ireland in international competitions for the 2022/2023 season.

Ryan McAnuff has been listed to the National Team for the seventh consecutive season. During the past season while training and competing, he also graduated from medical school at the University of Limerick.

“I am very excited to once again be named to the Irish National Short Track Speed Skating Team,” Ryan McAnuff said. “This off-season has allowed me to reset mentally and physically, while still training very hard. I will proudly represent Ireland this season with a major goal being to continue to close the gap between myself and the top skaters in world. Another goal of mine is to work on my race tactics and try new track patterns and strategies during practice and racing.”

Like his brother Ryan, Sean McAnuff is on the National Team again for the seventh time in a row. He placed 35th at the 2022 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Montreal, Canada. Since December 2020, he has been training in Budapest, Hungary.

“I have really enjoyed an extended rest for my body since the World Championships this past April,” Sean McAnuff said. “I am looking forward to getting back to training and continuing to develop my technique, endurance and confidence in racing. I will strive to make a positive impact on the athletes and other I connect with in the sport world, encouraging them along their journey. I have really enjoyed this aspect of skating over the past few years, as I notice that is a huge motivational component for so many speed skaters!”

Liam O’Brien has been selected for the National Team for the fourth time. Earlier this year, he finished 37th at the 2022 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Gdansk, Poland and just missed out an 2022 Beijing Olympic quota spot in the 1500 metres. He currently trains in Seongnam, Republic of Korea.

“Last season unfortunately did not go as planned and I had to deal with many ups and downs with injuries and with COVID,” O’Brien said. “In the coming season I hope to be challenging the top skaters in all events and pushing into the main round at World Cup and Championship events.”

National Team Members (Short Track Speed Skating):

Senior Men – Ryan McAnuff (County Antrim/County Derry/County Fermanagh), Sean McAnuff (County Antrim/County Derry/County Fermanagh), Liam O’Brien (County Cavan/County Leitrim/County Mayo)

You can learn more about our national team members here.

McAnuff and O’Brien Wrap Up At Final Short Track World Cup

Ryan McAnuff and Liam O’Brien brought this season’s World Cup odyssey for Ireland’s short track speed skaters across two continents and four events to a close at this weekend’s competition in Dordrecht, Netherlands.

Day One (25 November) began with the 1500m heats. McAnuff lined up in Heat 2 where he finished 6th in a time of 2:22.991. He was ranked 71st for the distance at this World Cup. There was plenty of drama in Heat 10 where there was a restart after a crash involving a number of skaters and in the rerun O’Brien was infringed upon by another athlete and promoted to third with a time 2:29.875. For the quarterfinals, O’Brien was drawn in Heat 4 where he came in 6th in a time of 2:17.135.

The 500m preliminaries were on the agenda for the afternoon of Day One and McAnuff raced in Heat 5 where he posted a time of 44.136 coming in fifth for a distance ranking of 76th. O’Brien rounded out the first day for Team Ireland by ending up third in a time of 43.128 in Heat 15. He was ranked 51st in the distance at this World Cup.

The Irish skaters were back on ice for Day Two (26 November) where they contested the 1000m preliminaries. Heat 12 saw McAnuff race to a fifth place finish in a time of 1:28.916 and placed 73rd for the distance. O’Brien crossed the line in Heat 15 with a time of 1:29.370 and was advanced to the next round. He finished fifth in Heat 5 of the 1000m heats in a time of 1:27.993.

O’Brien returned on Day Three (27 November) for the 1500m ranking finals. He raced in Heat 5 where he recorded a time of 2:17.322 for fifth place and five World Cup points. He was ranked in 40th place for the distance in Dordrecht.

O’Brien took to the ice for the last time on Day Four (28 November) for the 1000m ranking finals where he skated in Heat 2. He finished third in a time of 1:31.880 and placed 33rd for the distance which gave him 12 World Cup points and an overall classification of 57th.

“I’m really happy and thankful to be back racing this week,” McAnuff said. “Racing the top athletes in the world and competing at another international event and Olympic qualifier has been a great experience. I enjoyed myself and was proud of my performance. Balancing my final year of medical school and training is difficult, but worth it.”

“It’s been a long two months of racing between the Asian and European World Cups,” O’Brien said. “I am happy with my performance at my first World Cup series competing for Ireland and I hope to build on this base. This week I am happy that I was able to better my 1000m performance from the previous World Cups, but there is still a lot of work to be done.”

The final World Cup classification for the Irish short track speed skaters is as follows:

Ryan McAnuff – 500m (98th), 1000m (102nd), 1500m (101st)

Sean McAnuff – 500m (93rd), 1000m (99th), 1500m (86th)

Liam O’Brien – 500m (66th), 1000m (57th), 1500m (43rd)

The four World Cups served as qualifying events for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. The Special Olympic Qualification Classification quotas will be allocated by 13 December 2021. Full rules of the Olympic qualifying procedures can be viewed here.

 

McAnuff and O’Brien Set For Final World Cup

Ryan McAnuff (27) and Liam O’Brien (23) line up this weekend at the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating in Dordrecht, Netherlands (25-28 November), the final stage of four qualifying events for the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Both McAnuff and O’Brien will be racing from tomorrow (25 November) inside the Optisport SportBoulevard. First up will be the 1500m heats and quarterfinals which will be followed later in the day by 500m preliminaries and heats. On Friday (26 November) the 1000m preliminaries and heats will take place. Subsequent rounds and finals will be held on Saturday (27 November) and Sunday (28 November).

For both skaters, the goal again will be to progress as far as they can in each distance to accumulate ranking points. There are 32 Olympic quota places in the 500m and 1000m distances and 36 in the 1500m on offer. Full rules of the Olympic qualifying procedures can be viewed here.

This will be McAnuff’s season debut. After the first three World Cup events, the current World Cup Classification for O’Brien in each distance is as follows:

500m (60th), 1000m (69th), 1500m (42nd)

“I’m really excited to be back skating, especially here in the Netherlands,” McAnuff said. “I hope to make Ireland proud!”

“I was really pleased with how I raced last weekend in Hungary,” O’Brien said. “I am hoping to repeat that performance this weekend in the Netherlands.”

The ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating will be streamed live on the ISU Skating YouTube channel. The event can also be followed on social media via the #ShortTrackSkating hashtag.

Schedule (Irish time)

25 November

09:21 1500m Heats
11:46 1500m Quarterfinals
14:04 500m Preliminaries
15:34 500m Heats

26 November

10:56 1000m Preliminaries
13:04 1000m Heats

27 November

09:31 1500m Ranking Finals
10:12 500m Ranking Finals
12:33 1500m Semifinals
13:26 1500m Finals
14:15 500m Quarterfinals
14:53 500m Semifinals
15:30 500m Finals

28 November

09:27 1000m Ranking Finals
12:37 1000m Quarterfinals
13:18 1000m Semifinals
13:58 1000m Finals

O’Brien Keeps Olympic Dream Alive With Best World Cup Showing

Liam O’Brien marked his 23rd birthday by competing at the third ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating in Debrecen, Hungary over this weekend and posted his best result of the series so far to edge him closer to possible qualification  for the 2022 Beijing Olympics next February.

On Day One of racing, O’Brien opened with the 1500m where he was drawn in Heat 14. He finished third in a time of 2:24.899 to advance to the quarterfinals later in the day. He raced in Heat 7 and came fourth with a time of 2:18.941 to move forward to the ranking finals.

O’Brien rounded out his first day of competition in Heat 14 of the 500m preliminaries where he ended up 5th in 43.614. He was classified as 71st overall at this World Cup.

For Day Two, O’Brien had just the 1000m preliminaries to contend with and he raced in Heat 9 where he skated to fourth place in a time of 1:30.732. He finished in 62nd place overall for the distance in Debrecen.

O’Brien’s final race was the 1500m ranking finals on Day Three for which he was assigned to Heat 3. He came home 5th in a time of 2:31.317 to garner 38 World Cup points for his 26th placement in the distance.

After the first three World Cups, the current World Cup classification for O’Brien in each distance is as follows:

500m (60th), 1000m (69th), 1500m (42nd)

O’Brien’s exploits in Hungary put him in with a real shot of nabbing one of the 36 quota places available for the 1500m distance at the Beijing Olympics with just the final qualifying World Cup to be held next weekend (24-28 November) in Dordrecht, Netherlands.

“I am slowly building on the performances from the first two World Cups,” O’Brien said. “I am happy with my skate in the 1500m and hopefully next week I can repeat similar results.”

O’Brien Continues On Road To Beijing At Third ISU World Cup in Hungary

Liam O’Brien (22) is back competing this weekend at the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating in Debrecen, Hungary (18-21 November), the penultimate leg of four qualifying events for the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

O’Brien will be racing from tomorrow (18 November) inside the Főnix Arena. First up will be the 1500m heats and quarterfinals which will be followed later in the day by 500m preliminaries and heats. On Friday (19 November) the 1000m preliminaries and heats will take place. Subsequent rounds and finals will be held on Saturday (20 November) and Sunday (21 November).

For O’Brien, the goal again will be to progress as far as he can in each distance to accumulate ranking points. There are 32 Olympic quota places in the 500m and 1000m distances and 36 in the 1500m on offer. Full rules of the Olympic qualifying procedures can be viewed here.

After the first two World Cup events in Asia last month, the current World Cup Classification for O’Brien in each distance is as follows:

500m (60th), 1000m (60th), 1500m (45th)

“It was good to get back to my training base in Korea between the Asian and European World Cups,” O’Brien said. “Since the last World Cup, I’ve been building on my performance and hope to improve over the coming weekend.”

The ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating will be streamed live on the ISU Skating YouTube channel. The event can also be followed on social media via the #ShortTrackSkating hashtag.

Schedule (Irish time)

18 November

09:36 1500m Heats
12:01 1500m Quarterfinals
14:34 500m Preliminaries
16:01  500m Heats

19 November

10:26 1000m Preliminaries
12:21 1000m Heats

20 November

10:01 1500m Ranking Finals
10:42 500m Ranking Finals
13:20 1500m Semifinals
14:13 1500m Finals
15:02 500m Quarterfinals
15:40 500m Semifinals
16:17 500m Finals

21 November

09:12 1000m Ranking Finals
13:19 1000m Quarterfinals
14:00 1000m Semifinals
14:40 1000m Finals

Second Stage Of Olympic Qualifying Beckons For McAnuff And O’Brien in Japan

This weekend Sean McAnuff and Liam O’Brien continue their pursuit for 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic quota places at the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating in Nagoya, Japan (28-31 October).

McAnuff and O’Brien will be racing from tomorrow (28 October) inside the Nippon Gaishi Arena. First up will be the 1500m heats and quarterfinals which will be followed later in the day by 500m preliminaries and heats. On Friday (29 October) the 1000m preliminaries and heats will take place. Subsequent rounds and finals will be held on Saturday (30 October) and Sunday (31 October).

For McAnuff and O’Brien, the goal will be to progress as far as they can in each distance to accumulate ranking points at each World Cup event. There are 32 Olympic quota places in the 500m and 1000m distances and 36 in the 1500m on offer. Full rules of the Olympic qualifying procedures can be viewed here.

After the first World Cup in Beijing, China last weekend, the current World Cup Classification for the Irish skaters in each distance is as follows:

Sean McAnuff – 500m (63rd), 1000m (58th), 1500m (43rd)

Liam O’Brien – 500m (53rd), 1000m (48th), 1500m (33rd)

The ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating will be streamed live on the ISU Skating YouTube channel. The event can also be followed on social media via the #ShortTrackSkating hashtag.

Schedule (Irish time)

28 October

02:30 1500m Heats
05:06 1500m Quarterfinals
07:44 500m Preliminaries
09:14 500m Heats

29 October

03:37 1000m Preliminaries
05:32 1000m Heats

30 October

03:06 1500m Ranking Finals
03:47 500m Ranking Finals
06:20 1500m Semifinals
07:13 1500m Finals
08:02 500m Quarterfinals
08:40 500m Semifinals
09:17 500m Finals

31 October

01:17 1000m Ranking Finals
05:19 1000m Quarterfinals
06:00 1000m Semifinals
06:40 1000m Finals

McAnuff and O’Brien Embark On Quest For Beijing Spots

Short track speed skaters Sean McAnuff (24) and Liam O’Brien (22) begin their journey this weekend to secure quota places for Ireland at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at the first of four ISU World Cup events.

McAnuff and O’Brien will be racing from tomorrow (21 October) at the Olympic test event inside the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China. First up will be the 1500m heats and quarterfinals which will be followed later on in the day by 500m preliminaries and heats. On Friday (22 October) the 1000m preliminaries and heats will take place. Subsequent rounds and finals will be held on Saturday (23 October) and Sunday (24 October).

For McAnuff and O’Brien, the goal will be to progress as far as they can in each distance in order to accumulate ranking points at each World Cup event. There are 32 Olympic quota places in the 500m and 1000m distances and 36 in the 1500m on offer. Full rules of the Olympic qualifying procedures can be viewed here.

“My goals for the upcoming World Cups are to give my best effort at everything I do,” McAnuff said. “I want to go through these Olympic qualfiers with a positive attitude and outlook regardless of my results. I hope to meet new athletes and connect with old friends and encourage them in their racing and training efforts. I would love to see us athletes enjoy and take part in our speed skating community in a fun and encouraging way that supports each of us and all the hard work we have put in leading up to this point.”

“I am looking forward to competing at the first World Cup here in Beijing tomorrow,” O’Brien said. “I hope to be able to skate strong and work towards qualifying Ireland a spot at the upcoming Winter Olympics.”

The ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating will be streamed live on the ISU Skating YouTube channel. The event can also be followed on social media via the #ShortTrackSkating hashtag.

Schedule (Irish time)

21 October

03:40 1500m Heats
06:16 1500m Quarterfinals
08:44 500m Preliminaries
10:11 500m Heats

22 October

04:47 1000m Preliminaries
06:38 1000m Heats

23 October

03:16 1500m Ranking Finals
04:17 500m Ranking Finals
07:20 1500m Semifinals
08:13 1500m Finals
09:02 500m Quarterfinals
09:40 500m Semifinals
10:17 500m Finals

24 October

01:57 1000m Ranking Finals
06:19 1000m Quarterfinals
07:00 1000m Semifinals
07:40 1000m Finals

O’Brien Receives Beijing 2022 Individual Performance Support Award

Irish short track speed skater Liam O’Brien (22) has been accepted to the Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI) Beijing 2022 Individual Performance Support programme.

In partnership with the Sport Ireland Institute, the OFI will be providing O’Brien with virtual strength and conditioning assessments, nutritional and psychology consultations in the build-up to next February’s Beijing 2022 Olympic Games.

In March this year, O’Brien finished in 29th place overall at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands. This was the highest placement for an Irish skater in the history of the event.

“The OFI and ISAI have been of great support to me in my preparations for the upcoming season,” O’Brien said. “I am delighted to be granted the Beijing 2022 Individual Performance Support Award and this will assist me tremendously for the competition season ahead and Olympic qualifications.”