It probably has to do with their short legs and really low hanging funny looking butts. I can tell a korean from any other asian and all other people just by seeing their butt and legs from behind.
Short legs = short track
Long legs = long track
They say you shouldnt do short track if your inseam is anymore than 32".
Who was the tall guy in the short track 500 last night (maybe 1500), Pap, Platt...something like that. He looked like a giant trying to tuck in behind the tiny Asians. He's probably dominating the pick-up b-ball games at the gym.
Aleck the Smart wrote:
Those Korean kids grow up skating back and forth to school both ways, sometimes an extra trip at lunch... all at elevation...
Wow.
Being short probably helps...low center of gravity.
Since when has Korea all been at elevation? The highest point is under 2000m. The marathons I did there certainly weren't and I reckon the parts of Korea with a sea border aren't at elevation either.
Respond to topics all you like, but that is just crap.
Bolloox wrote:
Since when has Korea all been at elevation? The highest point is under 2000m. The marathons I did there certainly weren't and I reckon the parts of Korea with a sea border aren't at elevation either.
Respond to topics all you like, but that is just crap.
Forgot to turn on your irony radar?
Those jokes went right over your head? Are you Asian?
Bolloox wrote:
Since when has Korea all been at elevation? The highest point is under 2000m. The marathons I did there certainly weren't and I reckon the parts of Korea with a sea border aren't at elevation either.
Respond to topics all you like, but that is just crap.
For the relatively small percentage of koreans who go into sports or dance etc. they go all in. It's not really about balancing school and sport, it becomes all sport. Why do you think that korean skate stud moved to Russia? Korean pride is huge and to leave Korea for Russia was a move of desparation because his whole life was based on skating and for some reason he was getting blackballed by the korean skate federation despite his talent. Most people can't imagine what a heavy choice it must have been to leave Korea, with it's tradition and passion for short track to go compete for another country. Apparently he almost went to the US but got more money from Russia.
As for the others, most go to a sports university that is located at the olympic park in seoul, where there are ice rinks and reminders of the Olympics all around them every day.
Comes down to:
1) large population of natural body builds for the event
2) large population of extremely determined and focussed people to pull from
3) total commitment to the sport once they have shown promise
4) excellent training partners/rivals = 1000's of hours of highly competitive practice
5) a chance for national fame if you rise to the top, which is more akin to being the olympic champ at 100 meters in track if you are in a lot of other countries like the US
Not to change the subject too much but I think a lot of people forget that Koreans are pretty decent marathon runners too! Sohn Kee Chung won the 1936 olympic marathon and again in 92 and silver in 96... Koreans have also won Boston 3 times the last being in 2001.
Just an interesting fact I don't think we get recognized for.
Fighting!
It's mostly that a culture has been built up in South Korea surrounding the sport. I speed skate myself and there are many South Koreans even in the US clubs. It's just more popular there than it is in the United States.
Definitely the low center of gravity. I'm a keen student and connoisseur of female Asian bodies and I can say with authority that Korean women have shorter legs for their height than other Asians. They also have more volatile temperaments - or rather, their culture permits them to show aggression to a larger extent than Chinese, Japanese or SE Asians. Short track is a dog fight for positions so it can't hurt to be raging bit\ch.
Me love you long time
Not a Seattle fan wrote:
Me love you long time
Wow, you know a racist joke that's only 40 years old? You are so cool and edgy, I wish I could be more like you.
SMJO wrote:
When did South Korea become communist?
I think the US fought a war to prevent that from happening.
I think a country becomes good at a sport in part (and I think this is a big part) when it has a "hero" emerge from that sport. Same is true for US. US went through a down period in distance running, then some runners emerged that were setting records of being competitive. I think back to Todd Williams and Bob Kennedy and a few others. Then along came Meb and Deena and then Webb and then Rupp and then Goucher(s). Success breeds success. (I probably left out some steps in the names).
Also, a country can become good if it puts resources into "low hanging fruit". Sports where the participation is low could be easier pickings.
South Korea also produces a lot of female golfers.
Blame Canada wrote:
The South Koreans didn't invent short track speed skating yet they are so dominant. Is it cultural or genetic?
You may be interested to know that there are many sports in which the location of it's invention is totally irrelevant to the people who master the sport. For example, Table Tennis was invented in Great Britain, but you're probably aware that the Chinese have won every olympic medal for years...
Did you know that Kim Jong Un's grand family served in the Imperial Japanese Army with great distinction. So did my many of family members back then.
mitchellmac2 wrote:
Blame Canada wrote:The South Koreans didn't invent short track speed skating yet they are so dominant. Is it cultural or genetic?
You may be interested to know that there are many sports in which the location of it's invention is totally irrelevant to the people who master the sport. For example, Table Tennis was invented in Great Britain, but you're probably aware that the Chinese have won every olympic medal for years...
Same with badminton.
And baseball was invented in Britain too, but it didn't take them long to figure out how mindnumbingly boring it is, so they stopped playing it.
The fun sports in Sochi?
x-country
Alpine skiing
long-distance skating
hockey
Kate Hansen
perhaps the sliding sports
The other fun sports: running,tennis, college football
The US should refocus on some of these winter sports. Our basketball is monotonous and baseball isn't a sport.
My peniz is thicker than the Kim section of the Korean phone book.
letsrun.com/whyvotebush.php wrote:
Not a Seattle fan wrote:Me love you long time
Wow, you know a racist joke that's only 40 years old? You are so cool and edgy, I wish I could be more like you.
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