By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
With two gold medals and a silver medal in the first four events of long-track speed skating at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, South Korea has shocked many in emerging as a major power in the sport for the first time.
The success is the result of a change in strategy which emphasizes strong cornering and a little kick at the finish line.
Ahead of the Olympics, the Korean team, led by head coach Kim Kwan-kyu, spent time developing skills which they believed would be most beneficial to Korean skaters.
Unlike in short track, in long track race times are calculated using a photo finish. Korea skaters have been sticking their leg out at the finish line to get a slightly faster time.
"Kicking out the blade can reduce a skater's time by 0.03 to 0.04 seconds in races,'' the head coach said.
Mo Tae-bum cut 0.02 seconds off his time in his first 500 meters on Tuesday (KST). He was initially time at 34.94 but the photo finish shaved it down to 34.92.
South Koreans, who are relatively smaller than their Western counterparts, are not as much affected by centrifugal force while rounding corners.
So Kim has trained his skaters to lean more toward the inside line, which brings them lower toward the ice and favors smaller skaters.
The Koreans also brought along a couple of specialists, former national short trackers Oh Se-jong and Kim Dong-min, who first joined the team during their training session in Canada last summer. The two have been effective in adjusting the sharpness of skate blades according to the condition of the ice surface.