It was a memorable Sunday for Hanne Desmet (BEL), who captured the first Senior gold medal of her career, winning an exciting 1500m (2) final at Almaty’s Halyk Arena to cap the final day of this season’s third World Cup meet in style.
After making some well-executed passes throughout the race, Desmet had nestled herself behind Kim Gilli (KOR) and Courtney Sarault (CAN) in a bid to stay out of trouble at the very front.
Her strong attack into the final lap allowed Desmet to make an inside pass on Sarault and throw her skate over the line to claim the top spot – ahead of Sarault, who took silver, and Anna Seidel (GER), who beat Gilli and Shim Suk Hee (KOR) for bronze.
Hanne Desmet (BEL) poses with her first gold medal after winning the Women's 1500m (2): © International Skating Union
“This is so cool. It was such a good race as well with a lot of jostling for positions,” Desmet said.
“I made the decision to give myself a bit of space to accelerate through the last lap – and it just worked!
“I’m so happy that I was able to stay composed during the race. I tend to rush myself in A finals and that usually ends up in me making unnecessary mistakes.
“But this time I was able to keep my calm. It’s such a great feeling to finally win gold.”
The 26-year-old’s win was greeted with a round of high fives and applause from the Dutch squad – the Belgian, alongside her brother Stijn, has been training with Team Netherlands in Heerenveen for four years.
“They’re all so happy for me, and I’m so grateful to have them as my teammates,” she said. “They’re always there for me, through the highs and lows. I’m so proud.”
Sarault was equally happy for Desmet.
“Of course, when you get passed in the last lap, it’s not always the most fun experience but I still root for her. She was coming in hot,” she said.
“I didn’t have much speed left so I couldn’t really do much about it. I’m still proud of myself, too.”
Boutin turns on the jets
Kim Boutin (CAN) is back to winning ways. The sprint specialist, who turns 28 in five days, led from start to finish to beat Suzanne Schulting (NED) in the 500m. Kristen Santos-Griswold (USA) picked up bronze.
It took a restart for Boutin to race to an early lead, as she had earlier touched blades with Schulting. But Canada’s four-time Olympic medalist never looked back after her second sprint from the gun, beating Schulting comfortably.
Kim Boutin (CAN) celebrates her victory in the Women's 500m © International Skating Union
“My blades were broken after the first start so I had to change them. That made me think like, ‘OK, I need to start faster next time’. It gave me that little push to be quicker.
“I accelerated and then I didn’t feel anyone behind me so I thought ‘maybe it’s happening’. I knew that I needed to keep my speed and I did. I think it was a really good race from me.”
Relay gold for Canada
Boutin went on to also win the 3000m Relay with Canada – ahead of the Netherlands, with Korea third.
“It’s really nice to come out on top together with the girls,” Boutin said after the Relay final. “Our group is really strong. For us, this is a big win.”
Team Canada celebrates victory in the Women's 3000m Relay © International Skating Union
The ISU World Cup circuit stays in Almaty for the second installment of an Asian double-header. Competition continues next weekend, 16-18 December, in Kazakhstan’s former capital.
For all information about the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series, please visit webpage here.
World Cup Classification - Men
Overall World Cup Classification
World Cup Classification - Women
Overall World Cup Classification
World Cup Classification – Mixed Relay
Mixed Relaywcst
Where to watch
Viewers will be able to watch the Saturday and Sunday afternoon (local time) World Cup sessions via their national broadcaster/channel.
For countries where there are no broadcasters and for the qualification and repechage races, 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:
Oct 28 - 30, 2022 Montréal /CAN
Nov 04 - 06, 2022 Salt Lake City /USA
Dec 09 - 11, 2022 Almaty /KAZ
Dec 16 - 18, 2022 Almaty /KAZ
Feb 03 - 05, 2023 Dresden /GER
Feb 10 - 12, 2023 Dordrecht /NED
About ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series
The ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2022. Launched in 1997/98, the Series usually consists of six events (four during an Olympic season) that take place in North America, Europe and Asia.
The competitions have a single distance character across nine distances (500, 1000 and 1500 meters for Women and Men, Women 3000 meters Team Relay, Men 5000 meters Team Relay and a Mixed Gender Relay over 2000 meters), and to mark its 25th anniversary, the series now also includes an Overall World Classification based on an accumulation of points from all individual distances which will determine a Combined Season Ranking and a Season Champion in the Women and Men categories. These Champions will be awarded with the new ISU World Cup Short Track Crystal Globe Trophy.
Each competition is held over three days (day 1 is dedicated to all Qualifying Rounds, days 2 and 3 consist of the last Qualifying Rounds followed by the World Cup sessions). For the Mixed Gender Relay Teams (2 Women & 2 Men), the Women 3000 meters Relay races and Men 5000 meters Relay races a maximum of four Skaters shall compete and must belong to the same ISU Member. For further information please visit isu.org.
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