▁Olympic ▁sport . ▁Short ▁track ▁speed ▁sk ating ▁had ▁little ▁following ▁in ▁the ▁long ▁track ▁speed ▁sk ating ▁countries ▁of ▁Europe , ▁such ▁as ▁Norway , ▁the ▁Netherlands ▁and ▁the ▁former ▁Soviet ▁Union , ▁with ▁none ▁of ▁these ▁nations ▁having ▁won ▁official ▁med als ▁( though ▁the ▁Netherlands ▁won ▁two ▁gold ▁med als ▁when ▁the ▁sport ▁was ▁a ▁demonstr ation ▁event ▁in ▁ 1 9 8 8 ). ▁The ▁Norwegian ▁publication ▁Sports b oken ▁spent ▁ten ▁pages ▁detail ing ▁the ▁long ▁track ▁speed ▁sk ating ▁events ▁at ▁the ▁Albert ville ▁Games ▁in ▁ 1 9 9 3 , ▁but ▁short ▁track ▁was ▁not ▁mentioned ▁by ▁word , ▁though ▁the ▁results ▁pages ▁appeared ▁in ▁that ▁section . ▁ ▁Although ▁this ▁form ▁of ▁speed ▁sk ating ▁is ▁newer , ▁it ▁is ▁growing ▁faster ▁than ▁long - track ▁speed ▁sk ating , ▁largely ▁because ▁short ▁track ▁can ▁be ▁done ▁on ▁an ▁ice ▁hockey ▁r ink ▁rather ▁than ▁a ▁long - track ▁o val . ▁ ▁R ules ▁ ▁Short ▁track ▁ ▁R aces ▁are ▁run ▁counter - clock wise ▁on ▁a ▁ 1 1 1 - meter ▁track . ▁Short ▁track ▁races ▁are ▁almost ▁always ▁run ▁in ▁a ▁mass ▁start ▁format ▁in ▁which ▁two ▁to ▁six ▁sk aters ▁may ▁race ▁at ▁once . ▁Sk aters ▁may ▁be ▁dis qual ified ▁for ▁false ▁starts , ▁imp eding , ▁and ▁cutting ▁inside ▁the ▁track . ▁False ▁starts ▁occur ▁when ▁a ▁sk ater ▁moves ▁before ▁the ▁gun ▁goes ▁off ▁at ▁the ▁start ▁of ▁a ▁race . ▁Sk aters ▁are