Ted-Jan Bloemen grabbed the first non-Dutch speed skating gold in a new Olympic 10000m record of 12:39.77 at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games. The Canadian world record holder caused a big upset in the Dutch camp, when he kept Sven Kramer (NED) off the only title he missed, and still misses, in his trophy cabinet.
The Men’s event at the Olympic Winter Games looks wide open and the battle between the “quad kings” should be fierce. All top contenders have multiple quadruple jumps planned and they will need them to get on to the podium in PyeongChang.
In an exciting Olympic Pairs final, Germany’s Aljona Savchenko / Bruno Massot soared to gold at Gangneung Ice Arena on Thursday, edging world champions Wenjing Sui / Cong Han of China by just 0.43 points to win the first Olympic pair skating gold for Germany in 66 years. Canada’s Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford earned the bronze medal.
Canada’s Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir added another Olympic gold medal to their impressive repertoire, coming out on top in a spectacular Olympic Ice Dance event at Gangneung Ice Arena on Tuesday. Two-time World Champions Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron of France earned the silver medal in their Olympic debut and Maia Shibutani / Alex Shibutani (USA) claimed the bronze.
The 10,000m gold is the last major omission in Sven Kramer’s (NED) trophy cabinet. It’s the event he should have won twice, but never did. The 31-year-old Dutchmen is on a mission at PyeongChang 2018, but it is not going to be a walk in the park on Thursday night.
Jorien ter Mors (NED) maintained her perfect Olympic Speed Skating record, seizing gold in the ladies’ 1000m on Wednesday. Favorite Nao Kodaira (JPN), who won three World Cup 1000m races this season, had to settle for silver and her compatriot Miho Takagi added a bronze to Monday’s 1500m silver.
Reigning World Champions Wenjing Sui/Cong Han of China edged European Champions Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov (OAR) for a narrow lead in the Pairs Short Program at Gangneung Ice Arena on Wednesday. Two-time World Champions Meagan Duhamel/Eric Radford of Canada follow in third place in an excellent event that included many personal best performances.
After having won all 1500m World Cup races in which she started, Miho Takagi (JPN) was the red-hot favorite to win the distance at PyeongChang 2018, but record champion Ireen Wüst (NED) edged her out by 0.2 seconds on Monday. The 23-year-old Japanese was left with silver, but her Olympic campaign is far from over yet.
Three wins in four World Cup races and a world record in Salt Lake City. Nao Kodaira (JPN) is the clear-cut favorite for the Ladies’ 1000m at the Gangneung Olympic Oval on Wednesday. Competition will be tough, however and anything can happen.
An exciting and dramatic Ladies 500m race took place this evening in the sold out Gangneung Ice Arena. Arianna Fontana (ITA) finally won her first gold medal in her fourth Olympics.
Kjeld Nuis (NED) finally took his long-awaited Olympic gold. The 28-year-old world champion won the 1500m in 1:44.01 at the Gangneung Olympic Oval on Tuesday. His team-mate Patrick Roest (NED) grabbed silver in 1:44.86, and the Korean home crowd loudly cheered for Min Seok Kim (KOR), who ran away with the bronze in 1:44.93.
The Pair Skating event at the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang should be very exciting with about six top teams competing for the medals.
The Figure Skating Team Event at the Winter Olympics Games PyeongChang 2018 was very exciting and marked another land mark in Figure Skating. The medals have become very sought after among the participating nations.
Ted-Jan Bloemen started his maiden Olympic campaign with a silver medal in the 5000m on Sunday. The 31-year-old endurance specialist couldn’t have done it without the help of Team Canada. “I chose a different path, and it turned out better than I could have hoped,” he said after the race.
It’s called the Race of the Kings and it’s lived up to its reputation in the past. The men’s 1500m is a guarantee for exciting competition. Specialists must combine raw sprinting speed with the stamina of an endurance rider to get it right.