.
OK, I confess right here and now, I’ve been completely, totally and utterly slackin’ on keeping up with this site lately (hey, what can I say? My real life does need some attention from time to time… and I’m happy to say, I’m nearly organized, clutter free and caught up on all my ‘fix it’ projects! …finally!)
… but enough about me….
As a result, it’s nearly IMPOSSIBLE to keep up with all the various social media, photos, google alerts, websites and general ST gossip that pops up on the web. (I can barely keep up with just a days worth of Twitter and Facebook posts! LOL) But I did stumble onto this tumblr site with lots of great photos of the skaters. Here’s a nice one of Kimberly Derrick, Alyson Dudek and Lana Gehring.
To see more, go here:
http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/Kimberly+Derrick
.
=====================================================
…more news….
And the winner – under the category of: “Life’s a B*tch, Sucks To Be You…”
Tony Chung posted this article on Facebook about the end result of investigations of the Korean ST Team:
2 Olympic medalists banned from skating for 3 years
By Kim hyun-cheol
Staff reporter
Two Olympic medal-winning short track skaters involved in a race-rigging scandal are in danger of having their careers ended after the local sport-governing body imposed a three-year ban on each of them.
The Korea Skating Union (KSU) suspended Lee Jung-su and Kwak Yoon-gy from all competitions until April 2013, Yonhap News Agency reported Wednesday citing a source familiar with the case.
Their punishment, reportedly notified to the athletes the previous day, is heavier than recommended by a special joint committee convened last month.
The committee, comprised of members of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korean Olympic Committee and the KSU, suggested the two national team members be banned for a year.
Jeon Jae-mok, Kwak’s coach, was permanently prohibited from the sport for manipulating races, as the committee originally recommended.
The skaters can appeal the decision within seven days. Upon receiving this, the KSU will launch an additional investigation of the case and decide if its earlier decision should be amended within 30 days.
Lee, 20, and Kwak, 21, allegedly fixed the results of a series of recent competitions including their national team tryout races in March. Lee, however, is strongly denying the charge, saying he is a victim “of deep-rooted and wrongful practices on the local sport scene.”
In spite of the severity of the punishment, it remains to be seen if the skaters will appeal.
“This is just too harsh. It’s like the KSU is forcing them to call it quits as competitive skaters. It’s not fair to place that entire burden on young athletes when officials and coaches are actually much more responsible for what happened,” an official familiar with Lee was quoted as saying.
“But it’s not sure whether it will be better for them to opt for an appeal, which could drag the case on for years in the worst scenario.”
Lee was a double gold medalist in the men’s 1,000 meters and 1,500 meters at the Vancouver Winter Games, and Kwak won a silver medal in the men’s 5,000-meter relay.
hckim@koreatimes.co.kr
—————————————————————–
I do feel for these young men, they are amazing skaters. No doubt they were caught in the middle of a skating entity that is more political and catty than a room full of Junior League Divas. Given the ‘shelf life’ of short track skaters, and especially Korean ones, this is one harsh punishment.
If you haven’t been keeping up on this Korean Soap Opera, you can catch up on the Boots & Blades Forum:
http://therockerforum.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=worldst&action=display&thread=208&page=3
),
Posted by therockerfund 
The Ice & Times of Short Track Speedskating 