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July 15, 2005
Another coaching crisis in Korea?
There's some press today on a topic we haven't heard about for a while -- the coaching abuse scandal within the Korean national short track program. A column in the English version of JoongAng Daily reports that the Korea Skating Union has selected a new coach that many skaters oppose. It appears that a number of parents (possibly including the father of Hyun-soo Ahn) are protesting the KSU's decision, and a number of athletes are threatening to forfeit their spots on the team due to the selection of a coach they don't support:
This week, parents of South Korean short track speed skating athletes held a press conference to protest the selection of a person by the Korea Skating Union to head the national team. In an interview with YTN, Ahn Ki-won, the father of one of the members of the national squad, said that he could not accept the appointment of a coach who fabricated the results of matches and who did nothing in the past to stop physical punishment of the athletes.
Sheesh. Has the KSU learning anything from the events of last fall? Let's hope these athletes' voices will be heard!
Posted by noelle at 9:39 AM | Comments (7)
July 11, 2005
Video clip: U.S. Short Track Championships 1500m Race
Okay, here's the actual 1500m final from Milwaukee -- lots of rough-and-tumble, but Apolo skates away from it with ease. Enjoy! Download the clip here.
Posted by noelle at 5:29 PM | Comments (21)
July 10, 2005
Video clip: U.S. Short Track Championships 1500m Part 1
Here's the next installment from Moz's video of the U.S. ST Championships. This is announcing the lineup for the men's 1500m final. Skaters in the race are J.R. Celski, Alex Izykowski, J.P. Kepka, Mike Kooreman, Jordan Malone, Apolo Ohno, Rusty Smith. Thanks again to Maggie, Moz and Sonia!
Posted by noelle at 8:34 AM | Comments (8)