Irene Schouten (NED) bounced back from a poor outing in the 3000m last week to win the only Women’s 5000m race of this World Cup season on Friday in Calgary (CAN).
But despite a time of 6 minutes and 48.06s, the Olympic champion did not post the fastest time of the day, however. Long after all the A Division races had finished, Sanne ‘t Hof (NED) skated 0.78s faster to win the B Division.
Earlier on Friday Kim Min Sun (KOR) had made it four out of four in the 500m, while Olympic Champion Erin Jackson (USA) took her first World Cup medal this season, seizing bronze in the same event.
Kim copies Jackson’s dominance, but the Olympic champion is back
Kim picked up where she had left last week, when she skated the 500m in under 37s for the first time to win her third World Cup race of this season. And just like last week, the 23-year-old Korean was the only one to skate under 37 seconds to take gold, and in posting a time of 36.96s, she also shaved another 0.01 second off her personal best.
Kim Min Sun (KOR) was the only skater below 37 seconds in the 500m, securing her fourth gold in four World Cup outings. ©ISU
Miho Takagi (JPN) finished 0.3s adrift to take silver, with Jackson taking bronze in 37.35s. The Olympic champion dominated last season in the same way as Kim is dominating this World Cup, and acknowledges she has work to do to get back to last season's high standards.
“I'm back on the podium, but I still wouldn't call it a success. I was actually just telling my coach that I don't really judge myself on a podium finish, because that's dependent on other people and how everyone else is doing. I judge myself on how I felt I skated, and I feel like I still got a lot of work to do.”
Miho Takagi (JPN) took silver behind Kim, with Olympic 500m champion Erin Jackson (USA) back on the podium with the bronze. ©ISU
Jackson had an explanation for her struggles on the ice.
”I had a different build-up to the season this year. I waited a bit longer to start training, so I had a bit of a longer summer break. After four long years it was a much needed break.
“The biggest change [from previous pre-season build-ups] is that I got back on my inline skates. Before the first World Cup, I had less than a week [on the ice]. Before that I was competing in Argentina at the World Inline Championships where I got a gold, a silver and a bronze - the full platter - and then I flew directly from Argentina to the first World Cup."
Schouten defies doubts
Irene Schouten could be forgiven for feeling a little insecure at the start of the only 5000m race this World Cup season: last week, she had finished seventh in the 3000m, and she didn’t know what had gone wrong.
“It was strange, I still don’t have an explanation. I felt good and I skated well in training. But skating here, is different than in Heerenveen [where Schouten had won the 3000m at the second World Cup event this season].
Irene Schouten (NED) put her own doubts to one side to take gold in the only Women's 5000m of this World Cup season. ©ISU
“Maybe it’s because we always train in Heerenveen, and therefore I know exactly which feeling goes along with which lap-times, and I know exactly how long I can keep a certain pace. This is high altitude. When I skate a good lap, I have no idea how long I’m able to maintain that pace.”
Starting as the first of the favorites in the longest distance made Schouten even more insecure, but when she finished, she was 10 seconds faster than the fastest skater so far, Martina Sáblíková (CZE).
The Czech veteran could start in the A Division because some others had dropped out, but she was still suffering from the injuries she sustained at a training crash last week. Sáblíková eventually finished fifth.
Schouten’s 6:48.06 proved to be good enough to push long-distance World Cup leader Ragne Wiklund (NOR) into second place by 4.80s, while Ivanie Blondin (CAN) took bronze in 6:54.81.
Wiklund breaks Norwegian best
Coming second, Wiklund maintained her lead in the World Cup ranking, but more important to her was the fact that she broke the Norwegian record of 6:54.98 set by Maren Haugli in Calgary in 2006.
Ragne Wiklund (NOR) broke the 16-year-old Norwegian record on her way to the 5000m silver medal. ©ISU
“That was my goal today, but while I was racing, I had no idea how I was doing compared to the Norwegian record," Wiklund admitted.
“With six to go, I felt the fatigue kick in, but I still managed to keep the lap times pretty flat at that moment. It was only in the last two laps that I felt like I was really done.”
Blondin beats Weidemann
Blondin surprised herself beating teammate Isabelle Weidemann (CAN) and taking a spot on the podium, especially after a little hiccup early on in her race.
“I feel like I haven't pushed myself in a 5000m like that in a long time, so it was pretty satisfying,” she said.
“I did have a struggle as well. It was two laps in, in the straightaway going into the corner on the front straight, I clipped myself. I had to take a couple deep breaths and thought OK, you're fine, just calm down and get in the rhythm again. It was a great race.
“I didn't think that I would ever step on a 5000m podium again in my career, because I feel like I'm almost veering more towards the mid-distance lately.”
Ivanie Blondin (CAN), right, overcame an early hiccup to beat team- and pair-mate Isabelle Weidemann, left, to 5000m bronze. ©ISU
Weidemann is the real long-distance specialist in the Canadian team, but the Olympic silver medalist finished well outside the podium in seventh place with a time of 7:00.66.
“I really struggled last few weeks, ever since I got sick in the Netherlands, I just haven't been able to train as well,” said Weidemann.
“It was really hard out there. I wish that I could say that I gave up but no, I just got slower and slower.”
“Something's clearly not super right, so I need to do a little bit of searching.”
‘t Hof sets fastest time in B Division
Well after Schouten, Wiklund and Blondin had already left the Calgary Olympic Oval, Sanne ‘t Hof won the B Division in a big personal best. With a time of 6:47.28 she was 0.78s faster than Schouten, a big result, although the A Division and B Division times are tough to compare because the B Division race has four skaters on the track, giving them a bigger advantage thanks to air circulation.
‘t Hof said: “Again three seconds off my personal best, incredible. I just feel very good. During the race I constantly skated 31.8s, 31.9s lap times, so I knew I was close to Schouten’s time. Last week I had a test race here and I knew that this time was possible, but I didn’t know that I would really be able to beat her [Schouten].
No top spot for Takagi yet
500m silver medalist Miho Takagi also skated the 5000m in the B Division. The Japanese 1000m Olympic champion had set her sights on the Adelskalender, the all-time ranking in which skaters are classified by their personal bests in the four Allround distances (for women the 500m, 1500m, 3000m and 5000m).
To climb to the top of this prestigious all-time ranking, she had to skate 6:55.87, but Takagi finished in 7:00.08, a personal best but not enough for the Adelskalender.
Cindy Klassen (CAN), who retired in 2015, therefore still leads the Adelskalender with 154,560 points. Takagi remains second, but she moved a little closer to the top spot, bringing her total down to 154,980 points.
Program
The second of two back-to-back Calgary World Cups starts with the 1500m and the Team Pursuit for Men, and the 500m and 5000m for Women on Friday. On Saturday the Women will skate the 1500m and the Team Sprint, while the Men take on the 500m and the 10,000m, and the Sunday schedule features the 1000m and Mass Start for both genders.
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 Short Track 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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