Edvin Brankovic BIH
“Today was a great start of the season. It was an important competition and I have to say that on the first day I matched my expectations. I am looking forward to my next race and my next World Cup. I am happy with the result. I feel I am improving from race to race. I’ve prepared a lot for this World Cup not just physically but mentally as well. This is an Olympic season and I need to be ready but I am satisfied with my condition right now. I used to train in Budapest and I am very thankful for Hungary. The organization is very good so congratulations to the organizing committee. I like the venue, the city and everything.”
Tommaso Dotti, Italy
“It was a good start to the weekend, the main goal is to qualify for the Saturday’s semifinal, because it will help me qualify for the Olympics. The ice is good, so is the atmosphere, but as the weekend moves on it will be more crowded and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Dimitar Georgiev, Bulgaria
“The race went well; I am satisfied with my results because I reached the level I am capable of with the amount of training I did in the summer. During the race I was not able to find my balance, it was maybe because of the ice. Now looking forward to the 500 meters, let’s see what happens there.”
Ryan McAnuff, Ireland
“I felt really good after the start, I was working a lot on endurance in the summer because 1500 meters is not my best. I let it out a bit faster today because I had 2 guys from the top5 in my race and I was focusing on the 3rd place to advance with time, but someone hit me. Happy that my endurance work paid off. Excited for the 500 meters which is my best.”
Urlep Bor Luka, Slovenia
“It is just the beginning of the season so I am not in a good form right now but it is my first ever World Cup so I am pleased with it. My goal is to improve my personal best on 500 meters, I think I have a good chance for it because there will be some fast skaters in my race. I feel like Budapest is my home ground because I have a Hungarian coach.”
Michaela Sejpalova, Czech Republic
“I was striving to finish in the 3rd or 4th place in my race, and I finished 3rd so I am very pleased with that. I gave myself a chance to advance to the next round.”
Deanna Lockett, Australia
“It was my first race in the new season it gets the race nerves out but it is much better now so I can move on from here. I’ve been trying to improve my 500 meters training this year so let’s see what I can do there, but I am focusing now on the next race only.”
Nicolas Andermann, Austria
“I was satisfied with the race but was a bit unhappy when the Irish guy fell, I lost a lot of time to the group in front. I’ve learned that I don’t have to respect the skaters that much. Now I feel prepared for the 500 meters.”
Oliwia Gawlica Poland
“I am tired now, the race was not really good but not really bad either. I can rest now because this was the only race I competed in this World Cup.”
Jung Hyun, Australia
“The race didn’t go as I had planned but it was alright, because I’m not a 1500 skater, I am a 500 skater. So I am getting ready for the five hundreds now. Hungary’s good, I’ve been here for a week for the training week, the food is excellent, the buildings are beautiful. Briefly my expectations are to be fast and win in 500s. I can say that it was totally worth coming to Hungary.”
Hanne Desmet, Belgium
“The race didn’t go well, my start was not that good, I got stuck at it. I don’t think 1st place can be reached, my expectation is to get qualified for the main programme. I really like it in Hungary.”
Michaela Kuncirova, Czech Republic
“The race was just hard, I had too many girls who were better than me, so it didn’t go as well I wanted. I expected that something will happen, and I will be lucky. But unfortunately, I didn’t make something of what had happened. Nevertheless, it’s great to be here in Hungary, I have been here so many times for training camps, so I really like it.”
Bianca Walter, GER
“I made the second false start at the 500 meters right now so I was out before the race started, it was really bad. But I’m really happy with my 1500 meters course, I’ll have the semi-final on Saturday, so I just wanna forget the 500 and go on tomorrow on the 1000 meters and the relay. I’m really looking forward to it, it’s my favourite distance.”
Kathryn Thomson, GBR
“It was actually exciting, I didn’t get the best start so I was behind a couple of people but I made a last minute overtake in the first corner and then just gonna try to chase down the leader, but I still qualified so I’m happy about that.”
Anja Chong, MAS
“The race was good, it’s the first competition of the world cup season, so I had a bit of nerves and stuff but after the first race which is now under my belt, it will be a lot better. It wasn’t perfect but I don’t think that any run could be perfect, I just went up there, trying to do the best I could. Since last year I have been focusing on my starts because I was struggling with them in the last season. I’ve definitely improved on that field I just need to learn to be more calm and get the nerves out.”
Valentina Ascic – Croatia 143 500m
“I am a little bit tired, but I am happy with the result. I made my best time so I am happy but it is not a good time. I am the 4th but it is going to be better later. The ice was good. I am not happy with my performance I think it is all about training and I should train harder then I will have better results. But now I am happy because I did not have too much training on ice. But this is just the begining of the season.”
Ezzi Ranya – Sweden 108 500m
“I fell in the middle of the race. Somebody jumped into me in the bend and I sadly fell down. I just want to concentrate on my next race. 1500 is my distance but 500 was fun. There are 2 girls and 2 boys from Sweden. It is not too much, but more then it used to be. Skating is not so popular in Sweden.”
Katerina Novotna – Czech Repulic 32 500m
“The race was fun. You have to enjoy it. I tried to do my best. Unfortunately I did not make it but I feel good right now. The ice was quite good. There were 8 races on the ice before and it was broken but it is okay. I am not in my best shape like I was. I will do my best later.”
Deniz Mukerrem 1500m- Turkey
“It was a really good competition. I am happy. It is the fourth in the history of Turky that a short tracker has advanced. It is my second time in Budapest and in Hungary and I love this country and the people so much.”
Alexadra Daneel – Belgium 500m
“The race was quite okay. I finished third but the time is not soo good. I still have the 1000 meter race. I do not have any expectacions because it will be my first time in 1000 meters but I am very excited about it.”
Ariff Rasidan MAS 500m
“This is my second World Cup, it is a good experience for me, from a tropical country. I was a figure skater then short track came to my country Saolin Sanyi taught us and his coach of course. This race was very tiring because of the Olimpic champions but it was a great experience . I am happy with the result and that I can be here. The ice is good, the venue is beautiful.”
Heinrich Liu AUT 500m
“The race was slower than my personal best so I am not satisfied. I definitely need to work on my 500 meters. This is just the begining of the season but it is not a very good start. I was too slow I think. The ice is cool.”
Watanabe Keita JPN 19
“The race was difficult. During the 1500 meter race the ice was good but now it was soft and it was not good at all. My plan for this season is to win a medal at the Olympic Games.”
Danijela Ivandic, Croatia
“The race was a bit worse than what I had expected. But it is the beginning of the season and I had a lot of hard training camps. I am progressing slowly and trying to keep up with the group but it is not easy.”
Cheyenne Goh, Singapore
“The race went pretty much as I expected it. It was very hard, the others were much faster than me. I’ve lived in Canada for 13 years now with my family, but trained in Singapore last month. Looking forward to the 500 meters and want to enjoy it.”
Hyo Jun Lim, South Korea
“I am very excited and want to enjoy the race here in Budapest. I have broken my ankle 3 times, I fought hard to come back and compete here.”
John-Henry Krueger, United States of America
“I just had a good 1500m heat, that means I qualified for the semi-final and that means I am in qualifying position for the Olympics. I would like to see myself a bit more aggressive and stronger but it is a good start for the season. I am looking forward to 500 meters, because every year my speciality changes and this year I feel it is sprint.”
Biggs Zachary, New Zealand
“The heat was quite tough, there were a lot of fast skaters. I am happy overall this is what I came for. Now I’ve lived in the United Kingdom for 4 months and I’ve been training with the GB team. I have adopted pretty well. Hopefully, I can advance in the 500 meters, but it is not going to be easy.”
Vladislav Bykanov, Israel
“The heat was pretty good, I was a bit nervous, but eventually everything came out OK. I am not 100% happy, but it is only the beginning of the season, so there are a lot of time to improve. The ice is not that fast but the grip is good, you can skate very comfortable. 500 meter is coming up so, I want to stay focused to the race.”
Roberts Zvejnieks, LAT
“This is just the beginning, the hardest is just to come. Of course, I’m happy because the race was easy. I think I can do better because I’ve prepared very well this summer, I just have to get into the race, feel the ice, I think my best performance is about to come. Hopefully, I will reach the quarter finals, so te next round is the round where I have to do my best. Do I have a chance? Of course I have, everybody has.”
Imre Emil, ROM
“We enjoy the race a lot, but we get tired. You have to die a bit to get to the next round, at least once. The rink and the ice is good, although, it’s a bit warm. At home, back in Miercurea Ciuc, we usually train under zero degree, but here it’s, I don’t know it’s fifteen-sixteen degrees? I feel hot, and I sweat a lot. We hoped that with the track, everything will be alright. We got it. We’ve got clean dressing room, food and water, we got everything.”
