2010 OLYMPIC SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATING BETTING ODDS

We have six solid speed skating events in the Vancouver 2010 Olympics that will be contested at the Richmond Oval. It should be a real belter of a competition with 500m, 1000m and 1500m competitions in both the men’s and women’s divisions kicking off.

Canadian Charles Hamelin is considered to be the top pick for the men’s 500m short-track by UK bookmaker William Hill. He is trading at 2/1 odds to earn himself a gold medal at the distance. Francois-Louis Tremblay, another Canadian hailing from Quebec, is considered to be the second favourite, carrying an 11/4 price tag. The Korean tandem of Sung Si-Bak and H-Suk Lee are trading at 4/1 and 11/2, respectively. Yoon-Gy Kwak is well-priced at 6/1. Olivier Jean is another Canadian looking to make a statement here, but he is a bit off the pace, trading at 16/1. This looks like a very solid opportunity for Canada to pick up two medals with an outside chance on sweeping the podium.
Chinese short-tracker Meng Wang is a massive 1/6 favourite to win the women’s 500m event. Canadians Kalyna Roberge and Marianne St-Gelais are expected to offer up some competition here and they are priced at 9/2 and 12/1. Roberge finished in 4th place at the 2006 games in Turin and will be looking to improve in front of a home audience. Nannan Zhao is also expected to challenge and you’ll find her at 6/1.
The Koreans look set to contest the 1000m men’s short-track event with Ho-Suk Lee and Jung-Su Lee headlining at 6/4 and 5/2, respectively. American Apolo Anton Ohno, winner of the 2007 edition of Dancing With the Stars, is also competitive at a 3/1 price. Charles and Francois Hamelin are at 7/1 and 8/1 and will be looking to get the job done here. I will be giving shouts out to my homeboy Travis Jayner who is skating for the American’s Team Colbert. He’s from Riverview, New Brunswick and will be riding for the Americans. You’ll find Jayner at 40/1 to win gold, and I’m going to be backing him to show those Koreans how we get ‘er done in Albert County!
In the Women’s 1000m short-track, Meng Wang is again the favourite but she faces much stiffer competition this time out, trading at a mere 5/6. Katherine Ruetter of the United States will be offering up a big challenge and she’s listed at 7/2. Eun Byul Lee and Yang Zhou are at 4/1 and 5/1.
In the Men’s 1500m short-track event, we have a cadre of Koreans looking to sweep the podium. You’ll find Ho-Suk Lee, Jung-Su Lee and Si-Bak Sung all competitively-priced at 5/4, 2/1 and 7/2. Anton Ohno pays out at 5/1 while Charles Hamelin trades at 6/1.
It looks a similar story in the Women’s 1500m short-track with Yang Zhou at 5/4 and Eun Byul Lee at 2/1. These two look like the main challengers for the gold, while Lin Lin Sun trades at 11/2. Katherine Reutter can be backed at a 6/1 price.
It looks like we’re going to be seeing some very intense competition in virtually every round of this contest. Keep in mind that these are for the gold medal winning odds and there are qualifiers prior to the finals. You’ll get a great price by backing your favourites now and not waiting until the qualifiers. This is especially advisable if you’re looking to back favourites.