Skating: Poor funding surprises Jin

Triple Olympic Games gold medallist Sunyu Jin leads the pack at the Dunedin Ice Stadium yesterday. Also pictured (from left) are Jessie Zhang, Penny Burridge, Satyn Savage, Mikayla Biggs, Kevin Wang and Mackinley He. Photo by Jane Dawber.

Triple Olympic champion Sunyu Jin understands that speed skating lacks money and is in danger of becoming a pauper's sport in New Zealand.

Jin won gold medals in the women's short track 1000m and 1500m and was a member of the winning South Korean 3000m relay team at the Turin Winter Olympics in 2006.

She and former world champion Namkyu Cho are guest coaches from Korea at coaching clinics being held in Auckland and Dunedin this month.

Jin (23) was surprised by the lack of money in New Zealand speed skating.

"I didn't know it would be this bad before I came over here," she said after a training session at the Dunedin Ice Stadium yesterday.

"I would like to help but there is not much I can do about it.

"In Korea, all the skaters have custom-made boots and they change their blades three or four times a year. But in New Zealand, if the blade fits, the skaters continue to use them."

She can see some of the younger skaters have promise but has noticed there is a tendency for New Zealand skaters to run before they can walk.

"Everyone in New Zealand tries to go fast but what they need to do is to make their legs stronger," she said.

"In speed skating, your leg strength is very important." Her recommendation to New Zealand skaters was to do more off-ice training instead of spending four hours a day on the ice.

"That is what most Korean youngsters do," she said. "In the off-season, we do more off-the-ice training but when the competitions are close, we do more skating on the ice.

"If some of the younger skaters continue to train consistently, they have a chance to win a medal. But if they train too hard when they are young, they will just give up."

Jin dreamed of winning Olympic gold from the age of 12 and standing on the dais at the Turin Games was special, she said.

"I finally conquered my goal." Her three gold medals made her an instant celebrity in Korea.

"I became very famous," she said.

"There was a large crowd waiting at the airport when I arrived back home.

"It was a very special moment for me. These days, I still get phone calls after being on television."

Jin injured her ankle and could not defend her titles in 2010. She retired from competitive skating last year.

There are about 100 professional speed skaters in Korea but the sport ranks behind majority sports such as archery and taekwondo.

Jin is a full-time coach at Dankuk University and has also coached in China. This was her first visit to New Zealand.

The training camp is based at Tirohanga, in north Taieri, and the skaters have two training sessions each day at the Dunedin Ice Stadium.

The camp for elite and young skaters has been organised by Matt Biggs and Mike McMillen, who were members of the New Zealand 5000m relay team that broke the world record in 1993 with a time of 7min 10.95sec.

Also at the camp are former New Zealand champion figure skater Allie Rout (Auckland), who has switched codes, and Ben Rout (Christchurch), both of whom will be competing at the world short-course junior championships in Melbourne next month.

Sunyu Jin
Skating away

• Age: 23.
• Nationality: South Korean.
• Occupation: Professional skating coach.
• Education: Physical education degree, Dankuk University.
• Record: World champion short-course speed skater in 1000m, 1500m and 3000m (2006); Olympic champion, Turin (2006) in 100m, 1500m and 3000m relay.