ISU

The Dutch women won three more gold medals on Sunday to conclude the European Championships having taken all titles on offer in Heerenveen. Jutta Leerdam retained her 1000m title, Ireen Wüst, Antoinette de Jong and Irene Schouten seized the third consecutive Team Pursuit title for the Dutch, and Schouten rounded off the tournament defending her Mass Start title.

ISU European Speed Skating Championships 2022 Heerenveen (NED) - Day 2 Femke Kok (NED) and Antoinette de Jong (NED) won their first European titles in Heerenveen on Saturday. Kok took gold ahead of Angelina Golikova (RUS) and Daria Kachanova (RUS), who were relieved to skate at all after being quarantined this week due to positive Covid-19 tests in the Russian squad. De Jong concluded Saturday’s action with gold in the 1500m.

Patrick Roest (NED) won the European 5000m title on Saturday as Dutch speed skating legend Sven Kramer said farewell to an empty Thialf Stadium in Heerenveen, finishing sixth in his final 5000m race. Sverre Lunde Pedersen (NOR) missed out on a 5000m ticket for the Olympic Games after teammate Hallgeir Engebråten was faster in Heerenveen, taking bronze behind Roest and Jorrit Bergsma (NED). Earlier on Saturday, the Dutch men claimed European Team Sprint gold.

Thomas Krol (NED) won his first international title in the 1000m, edging out arch-rival Kjeld Nuis (NED) by 0.09s at the European Championships on Friday. Kai Verbij completed the all-Dutch podium at 0.17s from the winner. Earlier on Friday, Sven Kramer, Marcel Bosker and Patrick Roest handed the Netherlands their third consecutive European Team Pursuit title.

Irene Schouten (NED) started the European Championships with yet another victory to maintain her unbeaten record in the 3000m this season. Finishing in three minutes and 56.62 seconds, the 29-year-old endurance specialist kept silver medalist Antoinette de Jong (NED) 3.17s behind. Earlier on Friday, Poland’s Andzelika Wójcik, Kaja Ziomek and Karolina Bosiek kicked off the tournament by winning gold in the Women’s Team Sprint.

Canada is aiming for a milestone at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games. The North American Speed Skating powerhouse needs one more gold to claim its tenth Olympic Long Track title. At this season’s four World Cups, the Canadian team showed greater depth than the selection four years ago at the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeonchang, when Ted-Jan Bloemen was the only Canadian medalist.

With the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing only a month away, the European Speed Skating elite settles down in Heerenveen for the ISU European Speed Skating Championships on 7-9 January. After last season’s combined European Sprint and Allround Championships, the tournament will be held in single distance format this year. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the event will be held without spectators.

Spain has two world class Ice Dance couples in Olivia Smart/Adrian Diaz and Sara Hurtado/Kirill Khaliavin, but only one spot for the Olympic Winter Games in February and the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in March. Hurtado/Khaliavin finished 11th at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2021 and would have needed to have placed 10th at least in order to give Spain the chance to earn a second spot at the Olympic qualifying competition last September.

The International Skating Union (ISU), together with its partner Art on Ice, will present the third edition of the ISU Skating Awards in 2023 by way of an exciting show featuring spectacular performances, exclusive musical entertainment, as well as a unique ceremony.

Canadians are one of Short Track’s powerhouses – they lie third in the overall Olympic medal table in the sport – and the country heads to the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games with an exciting squad in place.

When a top skater comes out of retirement it is always an interesting story. And it is even more interesting when two top skaters come back and team up – which is what Pair Skaters Vanessa James and Eric Radford did. She is the 2019 European Champion and 2018 World bronze medalist with her former partner Morgan Ciprès, competing for France. He is a two-time World Champion, 2018 Olympic bronze medalist and Olympic Team Champion with Meagan Duhamel, representing Canada. He retired in 2018, her career with Ciprès ended in 2019, but in 2021 they decided to come back. Together.

With three gold medals, two silver and a bronze, Japan came second in the medal table at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games. Fast forward to Beijing 2022, the prospect looks even brighter. All Japanese silverware in PyeongChang was won in women’s events, but the men have caught up in recent years, especially in the shortest distance.

Traditionally, Japan is boasting a deep field in Single Skating, just think of superstars like two-time Olympic Champion Yuzuru Hanyu or of Olympic silver medalist Mao Asada. However, Pair Skating and Ice Dance are growing as well in the country of the rising sun and Japan has a realistic medal chance in the team event at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Japanese skating stars are going where no man has gone before.

Entering her fifth Olympic Games, veteran racer Arianna Fontana leads Italy’s bid for Short Track medals at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

With the Russian and Japanese Championships, two spectacular Figure Skating events highlighted the Christmas holidays. Japan announced their teams for the Olympic Winter Games and for the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships (Tallinn, January 18-23, 2022) while Russia named their Skaters for the ISU European Championships (Tallinn, January 10-16, 2022).