Sean Shuai Wins Junior World Title on Home Ice at Utah Olympic Oval

Already a Youth Olympic champion at the 500m distance, Sean Shuai can now call himself a Junior World Champion as well.

The 19-year-old from Tulsa, Oklahoma, won his first Junior World Title in the Men’s 500m and joined teammates Benjamin Sullivan, Julius Kazanecki and Wesley Jones to earn a Bronze medal in the Men’s 3000m Relay at the ISU Short Track Junior World Championships in Kearns, Utah.

The Utah Olympic Oval hosted the competition Jan. 29-Feb. 1.

Shuai’s time of 41.031 seconds put him more than a half-second ahead of runner-up Lee Yoonseok  out of South Korea. The medal was Shuai’s second at the distance in the Junior World Championships. A three-time member of the U.S. Junior Worlds team, he also won a Silver medal in the 500m in 2024.

Shuai advanced to the A Final with a first-place finish in his semifinal and a second-place finish in the quarterfinals.

As the competition continued, Shuai combined with Sullivan, Kazanecki and Jones for a third-place finish in the 3000m Relay with a time of 4:06.253, trailing China and Japan. The medal marked the first for Sullivan, Kazanecki and Jones at the Junior World Championships.

Shuai nearly reached the podium four times on home ice. He placed fourth in the 1000m and 1500m with times of 1:24.317 and 2:24.713, respectively. He missed a Bronze medal by just .018 seconds in the 1500m.

The competition continued a strong 2025-26 season for Shuai, who in December also captured the Men’s Overall Title at the US Speedskating Short Track Junior Championships.

In 2024, Shuai became the first American short track skater to win Gold at the Winter Youth Olympic Games, where he also added a Silver medal in the Mixed Gender Relay. Shuai also made his debut at the senior World Championships this past season.

Sullivan, in his second Junior Worlds, finished third in the 1500m B Final, or 10th overall, with a time of 2:12.348.

Isabella Chen, who won the Women’s Overall Title at the US Junior Championships, finished fifth in the Women’s 1500m B Final to lead U.S. women. Her time of 2:48.863 was 12th overall in her Junior Worlds debut. She also reached the quarterfinals in the 1500m and 500m. Olimpia Kazanecka won a preliminary heat in the Women’s 500m but was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Paul D. Bowker has been writing about Olympic and Paralympic 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.