All three U.S. Short Track Women advance to quarterfinal round in the 1000m
by Brennan Smith
All three skaters in the Women’s 1000m advanced to the Quarterfinal round in short track speed skating Wednesday morning at Beijing's Capital Indoor Stadium.
Maame Biney and Kristen Santos each won their heats, while Corinne Stoddard advanced as one of the fastest third-place finishers.
“I was looking at my coach and he kept telling me to build on the outside and if anything were to happen in front of me to take advantage of it,” Biney said. “I did exactly that, got first and it was super cool.”
In the Women’s 3000m Relay, the U.S. team missed out on an A-Final berth, finishing fourth in their Semifinal.
“Going into the last two laps I was feeling really good and we were right on the pack. I was able to conserve a lot of energy and unfortunately I clicked blades with another skater, got caught up in that and had to rebuild speed,” Santos said. “It was unfortunate timing but it is what it is and I just have to go and focus on my 1000m from now on.”
On the Men’s side, Andrew Heo and Ryan Pivirotto failed to advance out of their 1500m Quarterfinals. Heo placed 5th in his race while Pivirotto received a penalty.
“I could’ve waited to make my pass more toward the end of the race until the other guys were more tired, but with five to go I wanted to stay in the top 2,” Pivirotto said. "Unfortunately on the last lap, I got passed on the outside because my legs were dead.”
The Women's 1000m Quarterfinals and Men’s 500m Heats are scheduled for 7:00 pm Beijing time and 4:00 am MST/6:00 am EST on Friday, Feb. 11.
Tune into NBC and Peacock to catch all of the US Speedskating action throughout the Olympics.
Maame Biney and Kristen Santos each won their heats, while Corinne Stoddard advanced as one of the fastest third-place finishers.
“I was looking at my coach and he kept telling me to build on the outside and if anything were to happen in front of me to take advantage of it,” Biney said. “I did exactly that, got first and it was super cool.”
In the Women’s 3000m Relay, the U.S. team missed out on an A-Final berth, finishing fourth in their Semifinal.
“Going into the last two laps I was feeling really good and we were right on the pack. I was able to conserve a lot of energy and unfortunately I clicked blades with another skater, got caught up in that and had to rebuild speed,” Santos said. “It was unfortunate timing but it is what it is and I just have to go and focus on my 1000m from now on.”
On the Men’s side, Andrew Heo and Ryan Pivirotto failed to advance out of their 1500m Quarterfinals. Heo placed 5th in his race while Pivirotto received a penalty.
“I could’ve waited to make my pass more toward the end of the race until the other guys were more tired, but with five to go I wanted to stay in the top 2,” Pivirotto said. "Unfortunately on the last lap, I got passed on the outside because my legs were dead.”
The Women's 1000m Quarterfinals and Men’s 500m Heats are scheduled for 7:00 pm Beijing time and 4:00 am MST/6:00 am EST on Friday, Feb. 11.
Tune into NBC and Peacock to catch all of the US Speedskating action throughout the Olympics.