Kim Min Sun races to first place in the 500m at the Calgary Olympic Oval on Friday ©ISU
Kim Min Sun (KOR) is unstoppable in the 500m this season. After World Cup wins in Stavanger and Heerenveen, the 23-year-old Korean continued her streak with a third consecutive gold at the ISU World Cup in Calgary on Friday. Ragne Wiklund (NOR) won her second gold this season in the 3000m to take the ranking lead, finishing ahead of Marijke Groenewoud (NED) and Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong (NED).
Kim smashes personal best
Heading into the first of two Calgary World Cups this season, Kim held a personal best of 37.20s in the 500m, a time with which she had come seventh in last year’s Calgary World Cup. Before this season, her best World Cup result was a bronze medal in the 500m, but Kim has made a massive jump forward.
After the Stavanger and Heerenveen golds, Kim also won the Four Continents Championships last week in Quebec City, and in Calgary she was in a league of her own again. With a time of 36.97s, Kim smashed her own personal best, and was the only skater to stop the clock under 37s.
Vanessa Herzog (AUT) came second in 37.26s and Jutta Leerdam (NED) was third in 37.35s, making up the exact same podium as in Heerenveen on 20 November. Leerdam was impressed by Kim’s streak, but she doesn’t believe the Korean is unstoppable.
(L-R) Vanessa Herzog, Kim Min Sun and Jutta Leerdam on the 500m podium ©ISU
“I don’t really look at [others]. I work on my own races, but I can skate the times she skates too,” said Leerdam. “At the moment she’s just really good, but we’ll see at the World Championships later this season. Today’s race was not so good. Coming out of the first corner, at the back stretch and heading into the second corner, that part of my race was just not aggressive enough. Jac [coach Jac Orie] said that it cost me tenths of a second. But it’s great to skate on the podium again. Now it’s a matter of fine-tuning. I think I can go faster and be on top of that podium too.”
Wiklund takes 3000m lead
After beating Irene Schouten (NED) in the 3000m at the first World Cup this season, on home ice in Stavanger, Wiklund, had to settle for bronze behind the Olympic Champion and Isabelle Weidemann (CAN) at the second World Cup in Heerenveen.
In Calgary the 22-year-old Norwegian youngster was back on top again. When Wiklund took the ice in the penultimate pairing, Groenewoud had posted the fastest time so far in a personal best of 3 minutes and 58.89s, just ahead of Rijpma-de Jong, who had stopped the clock at 3:59.32.
Wiklund skated a very well-paced race, finishing in 3:56.94. With Schouten and Weidemann yet to come in the final pairing, she didn’t know what it would be worth, but the Olympic Champion and the Olympic bronze medalist were not able to skate the split times Wiklund had set early on in the race and they went from bad to worse in the final laps. Schouten eventually came seventh in 4:02.86 and Weidemann 11th in 4:05.96.
Wiklund was happy to see that she had adapted well to the fast high-altitude rink in Calgary.
Ragne Wiklund of Norway powers to first place in 3000m Calgary ©ISU
“I was a bit unsure about the conditions and how I was feeling. Then I actually felt like the whole race was a bit hard. [Racing at] altitude is a bit different. I was a bit nervous going into the faster tracks, because I know that I'm good at the slower ones. This [gold medal] gives me confidence heading on to the next races.”
Groenewould and Rijpma-de Jong eventually took silver and bronze. For Rijpma-de Jong it was her first 3000m World Cup podium this season, after already having won a 1500m gold in Heerenveen.
“This was way better than before in the 3000m,” she said. “It’s a step in the right direction. My 1500m is going better [this season]. I can make more pace with a sprinter’s stroke, which suits me well, but the 3000m requires a different type of stroke. You shouldn’t put your blade on the ice on the inside, but you have to put it on the ice on the outside to be able to create a moment of rest. Today that went well, and now I have to keep it up.”
Program
The first Calgary World Cup starts with the 1500m and the Team Pursuit for Men, and the 500m and 3000m for Women. On Saturday the Women will skate the 1500m and the Team Pursuit, while the Men take on the 500m and the 5000m, and the Sunday schedule features the 1000m and Mass
For all information about the ISU World Cup Speed Skating Series, please visit the webpage here.
World Cup Standings - Men
World Cup Standings - Women
Where to watch
Viewers will be able to watch the World Cup sessions (local time) via their national broadcaster/channel.
For countries where there are no broadcasters, the ISU will offer a live stream on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel. You will find the full list on the Where to watch webpage here.
ISU World Cup Speed Skating Series events 2022/23:
Nov 11 - 13, 2022 Stavanger /NOR
Nov 18 - 20, 2022 Heerenveen/ NED
Dec 09 - 11, 2022 Calgary /CAN
Dec 16 - 18, 2022 Calgary /CAN
Feb 10 - 12, 2023 Tomaszów Mazowiecki /POL
Feb 17 - 19, 2023 World Cup Final - Tomaszów Mazowiecki /POL
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