PYEONGCHANG, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- The 23rd Winter Olympic Games begins in PyeongChang, South Korea on Friday. Following are the numbers related to the history of short track speed skating sport, which begins on Saturday at the GangNeung Ice Arena:

1992 - the year short track became an official Olympic sport, at the Albertville 1992 Olympic Winter Games.

45 - the average speed in kilometres per hour when J.R. Celski of the United States established the men's 500m world record in October 2012.

31 - Cathy Turner of the United States is the oldest Olympic champion in short track. She won the ladies' 500m at the age of 31 at the Lillehammer 1994 Olympic Winter Games.

21 - South Korea has won 21 Olympic gold medals in short track, more than any other countries.

13 - age of the youngest person to win Olympic gold in short track, Kim YunMi of South Korea when she raced in the women's relay at Lillehammer 1994.

8 - of the 13 different countries that have claimed at least one medal in Olympic short track, eight have also won at least one gold medal in this sport.

6 - no short track speed skater has won as many Olympic gold medals in this sport as Russia's Victor An.

4 - Stephen Bradbury of Australia crossed the finish line first in the men's 1000m final at the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games after his four rivals in the race had bowled each other over in the final lap.

3 - Victor An was the most successful athlete at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. He was one of three athletes who won three gold medals and the only one of those three to add a bronze medal.