ISU

The International Skating Union (ISU) is proud to announce the launch of The Ice Skating Podcast, a fortnightly show featuring exciting news and interviews from the world of Figure Skating, Speed Skating, Short Track Speed Skating and Synchronized Skating, coming soon.

She was 14 months old when she had her first pair of inline skates, but only at age seventeen Francesca Lollobrigida she had her first taste of ice skating in Baselga di Piné. “I was in my inline suit with short sleeves and all the ice skaters were looking at me, what is she going to do?” Looking back she laughs about it. Over the years Lollobrigida has become a household name in International Speed Skating.

Bringing his artistic skills on to the ice in more ways than one, Itzhak de Laat hopes to become the Netherlands’ next big Short Track Speed Skating name, wearing his self-designed helmets.

This season the campaign evolves into This is #UpAgain. Athletes celebrate life back on the ice, share how they stay strong and have the opportunity to thank those who supported them through tough times.​

An Olympic medal in Speed Skating for Spain? It never happened before, but that doesn’t stop Nil Llop (ESP) from dreaming. The 20-year-old Catalan believes in opportunities, even when it’s against all odds. After a training accident in 2018, doctors said that he would never be able to skate again but one year later he became ISU World Junior Champion at the World Roller Games. Llop combines roller skating with ice skating because he strives to be an Olympian.

Growing up in Le Havre, France, Sebastien Lepape was ten years old when a friend introduced him to Short Track Speed Skating. Lepape was hooked immediately and pursued no other sport from that moment. All he wanted was to get faster and faster on the ice – which he did.

Today marks the unveiling of “Circles and Squares”, the official song for the 2021 ISU World Figure Skating Championships. The song is performed by international artists Måns Zelmerlöw and Polina Gagarina and was specially commissioned for the event, which will be held at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm (SWE) from March 22 – 28.

A total of 157 personal bests, 6 track records and the first World Record at the sea-level Thialf track since 2007 as a climax on the final Sunday. The Heerenveen Speed Skating hub was a huge success and not only by the numbers.

The ISU Development Commission and the ISU Centers of Excellence (CoE) from the Speed Skating Branch, come together to create a “Keep Training“ video series featuring Speed Skating and Short Track Speed Skating equipment.

  The Speed Skating Season came to a climax in the Heerenveen Hub this weekend with the ISU World Speed Skaitng Championships 2021. Check out a selection of some of the best pictures captured. 

Nils van der Poel did what many thought to be impossible in modern Speed Skating on Sunday: breaking a world record on a sea-level rink. The 24-year-old Swede clocked 12 minutes, 32.95 seconds to win the world title in the 10,000m, an event he labeled ‘the soul of Speed Skating’. In the preceding 1500m, Thomas Krol (NED) got up again with a gold medal, having been disqualified for two false starts in Saturday’s 1000m.

Ragne Wiklund (NOR) made Speed Skating history on the final day of the ISU World Speed Skating Championships in Heerenveen with a surprise win in the Ladies’ 1500m. The 20-year-old from Oslo became only the second Norwegian female world champion in Speed Skating history, and the first since 1938. In the concluding 5000m, Irene Schouten (NED) took gold to make amends for a disappointing third place in Saturday’s Mass Start.

Kai Verbij cashed in on his steeply rising performance curve in the Heerenveen bubble, winning his career-second 1000m World title on Saturday. The Dutchman, and Pavel Kulizhnikov (RSU) and Laurent Dubreuil (CAN), who grabbed silver and bronze respectively, took full advantage of Verbij’s compatriot Thomas Krol’s disqualification for two false starts. Joey Mantia (USA) celebrated his third Mass Start world title, leaving Arjan Stroetinga (NED) and Bart Swings (BEL) behind with a powerful sprint in the final lap.

The USA’s Brittany Bowe collected the third 1000m world title of her career, beating defending champion Jutta Leerdam (NED) in a head-to-head battle in Heerenveen on Saturday. Marijke Groenewoud (NED) surprised the pack – and herself – when she crossed the line first to become the youngest-ever Ladies’ Mass Start champion at the ISU World Single Distance Championships.

Laurent Dubreuil became the second Canadian after three-time winner Jeremy Wotherspoon to win the Men’s 500m at the ISU World Speed Skating Championships in Heerenveen on Friday, and with a big smile described his success as “pretty close to the perfect race”. He beat silver medalist Pavel Kulizhnikov (RSU), and Dai Dai N'tab (NED), who took bronze. In the men’s Team Pursuit, the Netherlands won their eighth consecutive World title, despite the absence of the injured Sven Kramer.