The men's relay of Short Track 2018 during the 2018 Winter Olympics was held on 13-22 February 2018 in the Gangneung Ice Arena. With 8 teams competing, the event was won by the team from Hungary, with China taking the silver medal and Canada taking bronze.
Format[]
This competition exists out of two rounds, each with four teams. The two teams with the fastest times in each semifinal advance to the final, while the remaining teams advance to the B final, with confirmation of a jury. The fastest team in the final is the winner of the event.
Preview[]
Eight teams qualified for the event, and the competition for the gold medal was pretty open. Canada won the World Cup over 2017/2018 and had won two out of four races, but South Korea and the United States had both won one. The Netherlands finished fourth in the world ranking by finishing second in two of those events. China and Japan were definite medal contenders behind the four teams, but even Hungary and Kazakhstan still had a chance for a medal.
Yerkebulan Shamukhanov was the youngest speed skater to compete, though less than a month younger than Kazuki Yoshinaga and another month younger than Hwang Dae-heon. The trio was over a year younger than Shaoang Liu, with all four making their Olympic debuts. The veteran in the field was Charles Hamelin, who would be making his fourth Olympic appearance at the age of 33, though Viktor Knoch reached the same milestone of four Olympic Games aged 28. Ruslan Zakharov and Daan Breeuwsma were the only two other athletes older than 30 years old. Of the thirty-four athletes, sixteen had competed in 2014 too, while about half of those fifteen had competed in at least their third Olympic competition in a row.
Current Records[]
| Record | Date | Nat. | Name | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR | 12 November 2017 | 
|
Keith Carroll | 6:29.052 |
| J.R. Celski | ||||
| Thomas Insuk Hong | ||||
| John-Henry Krueger | ||||
| OR | 21 February 2014 | 
|
Viktor An | 6:42.100 |
| Semen Elistratov | ||||
| Vladimir Grigorev | ||||
| Ruslan Zakharov |
Summary[]
Semifinals[]
In the first semifinal, the teams of Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Canada, and China skated against each other. The Canadian and Chinese teams quickly took the lead, almost taking back-to-back turns in front. Only three laps in, the Kazakh team stumbled at the changeover, but the four came back together shortly. With 30 laps to go, Sjinkie Knegt was the first one to try and take positions, but his first attempt to accelerate failed. The second Dutch attempt five laps later created a bit of a jumble at the changeover, which left the Dutch team fourth in the race. The first two teams held the door closed for the Kazakh and Dutch teams, not allowing them to take up the qualification spots. With 13 laps to go, the Kazakh skater crashed by himself, giving them no chance to qualify for the final, and being lapped in the process. The two teams in front skated away from the Dutch team, and in an ultimate attempt to qualify, Knegt brought Samuel Girard out of balance, giving the Dutch team a penalty. The Chinese team qualified first with a new Olympic record, with the Canadian team joining them in the final. Kazakhstan was assigned to the B-final, while the Dutch team was out of the competition.
| Heat 1 Results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | Time | Info | ||
| 1 |  China |
6:36.605 | QA, OR | ||
| 2 |  Canada |
6:41.042 | QA | ||
| 3 |  Kazakhstan |
6:47.727 | QB | ||
| 4 |  Netherlands |
PEN | |||
The second semifinal had the remaining teams competing against each other for two places in the final. In the race with Hungary, Japan, South Korea, and the United States, the teams remained in this order for the first few laps. After only three laps, the crowd favorites made the first acceleration and took the lead in front of Hungary. With thirty laps to go, it was the turn of the United States to take the lead, while the Koreans had a wide changeover and were also overtaken by Hungary, who quickly snatched the lead from the world record holders. With John-Henry Krueger retaking the lead of the race, a fierce battle between Hungary and the United States ensued, with the two teams flipping coins for the lead. However, the speed went up in the second half of the race, which lead to the home team taking the second place behind Hungary, and later the United States even dropping back to last place. In a hectic period with ten laps to go, the South Korean team performed a huge changeover, taking first place from Hungary in a powerful push. The home team was able to hold onto the lead in a new Olympic record, despite the closing Hungarians, while Japan had to leave third place to the United States after crashing.
| Heat 2 Results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | Time | Info | ||
| 1 |  South Korea |
6:34.510 | QA, OR | ||
| 2 |  Hungary |
6:34.866 | QA | ||
| 3 | United States |
6:36.867 | QB | ||
| 4 |  Japan |
6:42.655 | QB | ||
Finals[]
The final had included the top 2 of the previous World Cup in Canada and South Korea, but also China and Hungary, which qualified with ease. Immediately at the start, the Hungarians took the lead in front of the home team, followed by China and Canada, but the Koreans overtook Hungary no less than two laps later. In a race with a lot at stake, the positional changes were plenty, with China also taking the lead, constantly swapping positions with South Korea, while Hungary and Canada were not far behind either. The first half of the race was mostly a battle between China and South Korea for first place and Hungary and Canada for third place, but at the halfway point, Kwak Yoon-gy crashed and South Korea had a lot to catch up on in a small amount of time. With the three remaining teams close to each other, Canada took the lead for the first time in the race, and with 10 laps to go, the deficit of the Koreans had not decreased, even with China back in front. In almost the final situation before the final sprint, Canada was back in front with only five laps to go, and now Hungary had overtaken China after a changeover of the latter. In the final lap, Canada lost its speed, first getting caught by the Hungarians, and later also by the Chinese. The three teams all would have broken the former Olympic record set by South Korea in the previous round. The Koreans were lapped and finished fourth.
| Final Results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | Time | Info | ||
| 1 | Hungary |
6:31.971 | OR | ||
| 2 | China |
6:32.035 | |||
| 3 | Canada |
6:32.282 | |||
| 4 | South Korea |
6:42.118 | |||
The B final, for the teams that failed to qualify for the final, only consisted of three teams, after the Netherlands received a penalty in their previous heat. As the battle for fifth place in the event ensued, the world record holders the United States was the favorite to beat Kazakhstan and Japan, but anything could happen in the relay. With a clear overview and only two opponents to focus on, the three teams took a gentle pace, already conserving energy for a final sprint, with Japan leading the United States and Kazakhstan. After five laps, the United States took its turn in front, but the Japanese team took back the lead another ten laps later. Now going at a considerably faster speed than in the first few laps, the Japanese team had tried to pass the United States for first, and eventually succeeded, with Kazakhstan also overtaking the American team with less than fifteen laps to go. At this point, Japan really tried to accelerate, but Abzal Azhgaliyev used the slipstream to go in the lead. With only eight laps to go, the Japanese skater slipped into the boarding, eliminating them for the win, and the American skaters came closer and closer to Kazakhstan. A strong changeover to J.R. Celski gave the Americans the lead with only two laps to go, and in a thrilling finish, the world record holders barely managed to hold off an ultimate attempt of the Kazakh team.
| B Final Results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | Time | Info | ||
| 1 | United States |
6:52.708 | |||
| 2 | Kazakhstan |
6:52.791 | |||
| 3 | Japan |
7:02.554 | |||
Results[]
Hungary won its first gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games, and its first medal ever in short track. China won a second consecutive medal in the men's relay, after winning the bronze medal in 2014. Chen Dequan, Han Tianyu, and Wu Dajing were also part of that team, with Han winning his third medal, after also winning a silver medal at the 1500 metres in 2014. Wu Dajing won his fourth medal, and his second medal of the day, after winning the shortest distance. Canada won the bronze medal after missing out on a medal in 2014, with Charles Hamelin winning his fifth medal at the last race of his professional career. Samuel Girard won his second Olympic medal, after winning the 1000 metres a few days prior. Charle Cournoyer won his second medal after he won the bronze medal at the 500 metres in 2014. South Korea could have reached several achievements if they would have won a (gold) medal, with the relay preventing the home nation to win a medal in every men's short track event. It also prevented the host nation of the Olympic Games to win the men's relay for the third time in a row, which would have been for the first time at the Winter Olympic Games in any event in any sport.
| Result | Nation |
|---|---|
 |
Hungary
|
 |
China
|
 |
Canada
|
| 4 | South Korea
|
| 5 | United States
|
| 6 | Kazakhstan
|
| 7 | Japan
|
| - | Netherlands
|
| 2018 Winter Olympic Games | |
|---|---|
| Short Track 2018 | |
| ← 2014 | 2022 → |
| Men | Women |
| 500 m | 500 m |
| 1000 m | 1000 m |
| 1500 m | 1500 m |
| Relay | Relay |