Isabella Chen, Sean Shuai Claim Overall Titles At US Short Track Junior Championships

Isabella Chen and Sean Shuai won the respective Women’s and Men’s Overall Titles this weekend at the US Speedskating Short Track Junior Championships.

Chen, who skates out of Potomac Speedskating Club, placed among the top three in five of the six races in Kearns, Utah, to tally 45,395 points in the Overall classification, which was top among the Junior skaters. Teammate Olimpia Kazanecka (38,857), Elizabeth Rhodehamel (29,582) and Sofia Koons (26,468) rounded out the top four.

Shuai, a Silver medalist in the 2024 Junior World Championships, reached the podium twice to earn 32,252 points. He was followed in the Junior standings by Benjamin Sullivan (31,733), Wesley Jones (28,692) and Julius Kazanecki (28,642).

The three-day event was held at the Utah Olympic Oval and featured nearly 50 skaters ranging from the Senior to Junior C levels. For some, it was a preview for the 2026 ISU Short Track Junior World Championships, which will be held at the same venue on Jan. 29-Feb. 1. The Junior US Championships served as a qualifier for the Junior World Championships.

Even racing against some Senior-level skaters, three Juniors won individual events.

Chen’s semifinal time of 1:33.392 led all skaters in the first Women’s 1000m, and then she won the A Final in 1:36.848. She also placed second in the second 500m while finishing third in three other events.

In the first Women’s 500m, Kazanecka posted the fastest time of 44.635 seconds during her quarterfinal race and then won the A Final in 45.007 seconds. She also finished as the runner-up in both 1500m races and took third in the first 1000m.

On the Men’s side, Sullivan won the 1000m in 1:27.581. The Potomac skater also finished third in the second 1500m, one spot behind Shuai, who was the top Junior. Shuai also took third in the first 1000m.

Rounding out the Junior medalists were Kazanecki and Aidan Liu, who finished second and third in the second Men’s 500m, and Tiffany Zhang, who took third in the second Women’s 1000m.

Among the Senior skaters, Louisiana Stahl won four of the six races to lead the Women’s Overall standings. On the Men’s side, Noah Troppe swept the 1500m races and the Overall title.

Paul D. Bowker has been writing about Olympic sports since 1996, when he was an assistant bureau chief in Atlanta. He is a freelance contributor to USSpeedskating.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.