Suzanne Schulting (NED) made it back to where Short Track fans are used to seeing her on Sunday - on top of the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating podium.
The 26-year-old superstar had made an emotional comeback after an almost year-long absence from top-level competition when she won bronze in the 1500m in Dresden, Germany, on Saturday.
On the last day of World Cup action in the Joynext Arena, she climbed both one and two steps higher on the podium as she won silver in the women's second 1000m race of the weekend before clinching the gold medal with the Netherlands in the Women's 3000m Relay.
"I'm quite happy with my racing this weekend," Schulting said.
"It's a very great start and hopefully I can do better next week and improve myself on the things I wasn't the best at here. I skated some great tempo laps, it was quite hard, but I'm really happy with the outcome."
Suzanne Schulting (NED), center, took silver behind Kim GIlli (KOR), right, in the 1000m, one of three medals she won in Dresden. @ISU
Schulting gave her relay team the lead in the first lap and the World Cup leaders, also consisting of Selma Poutsma, Yara van Kerkhof and Xandra Velzeboer, kept it for the entire race to claim their fourth consecutive victory this season. Canada finished second and the United States won bronze.
"It's really nice. The first relay and back with a win right away," Schulting said.
"As a team, we are really happy. We made it a hard and fast race so we are quite happy that we tried it out."
Xandra Velzeboer (NED) sealed victory in the final leg of a Women's Relay which the Dutch quartet led from start to finish. @ISU
The three-time Olympic champion and last year's Crystal Globe winner, who had been out of competition due to health issues since the World Championships in Seoul (KOR) in March 2023, has been training fully with the team since December. Winning together is something different though.
"I missed the team so I'm happy that I'm back in business and it feels good to be back," Schulting said.
Kim wins star-studded 1000m
The 1000m final was a star-studded thriller which saw Schulting battle for the medals with overall World Cup leader Kim Gilli (KOR), second placed Kristen Santos-Griswold (USA), Hanne Desmet (BEL) and Corinne Stoddard (USA).
With three of nine laps to go, Schulting was in second place between leader Santos-Griswold and Desmet in third. Santos-Griswold fell on Desmet's skate and both lost their chance to win the race before Kim, who had won Saturday's 1000m, came storming to the front and kept her lead for the last two laps.
Schulting could not get past the Korean and had to settle for silver as Stoddard finished third.
Kim Gilli (KOR) won her second 1000m race of the weekend to stretch her lead in the race for the Crystal Globe. @ISU
The Dutch star said her timing and tactics had not been affected by her long break from competitive skating.
"That feels quite normal and natural to me. The tactical work is not a thing to get back into," she said.
"I'm skating great tactical races so it's just more the legs that need to get used to all of the racing and get back to it again. That's the biggest improvement, so I'm quite happy."
Having said her legs felt like they were "blowing up" after the first races on Friday, Schulting said her body had responded well to a weekend of competition.
"Of course I'm empty but it still feels very good. It's not the same as at the [2023] World Championships where I was completely empty and not able to do anything anymore. Right now I still feel strong so I'm happy with that," she said.
Kim was happy to be able to race against the Dutch 1000m specialist again.
"I still find it quite fascinating for me to compete with someone who's such a big influence on the sport," the 19-year-old Korean said.
"And I feel as though there's a lot I can learn from her while racing against her."
Schulting, left, won gold, silver and bronze medals on her return to competition after a year away from the ice. @ISU
At next week’s final World Cup event in Gdansk, Poland, Kim can take Schulting's title as the overall World Cup champion. With two victories this weekend, Kim, who finished about a tenth of a second ahead of Schulting, took an even firmer grip on the 2023/24 overall title.
"This race was very important because it was one that helped me get a step closer to the Crystal Globe," Kim said.
She had stayed in behind the leaders for most of the race before taking the lead in the penultimate lap.
"I raced patiently with confidence and made sure to take every advantage I could when the other competitors fought in front of me," she said, thanking the many Korean fans in the stands for their support.
"I didn't expect there to be so many Korean fans in Dresden. They definitely gave me motivation to compete at the best level I can."
Kim leaves Germany with 1,115 points in the overall classification – 135 more than overall No.2 Santos-Griswold. Velzeboer is in third place and Desmet fourth, but Kim was confident that this year's Crystal Globe will be hers.
"Nobody can stop me," she said.
Velzeboer crushes competition in 500m
In the women's 500m final, Velzeboer crushed the competition, leading the race from start to finish. The Dutch 22-year-old finished more than six tenths of a second ahead of silver medalist Wang Ye (CHN) as she extended her lead in the 500m rankings. Kamila Stormowska (POL) clinched the bronze medal.
Xandra Velzeboer (NED) dominated the 500m, putting in a confident race to lead from start to finish . @ISU
"It felt really good," Velzeboer said.
"On the starting line I was like 'I'm going to start so fast'. I was really confident and alert on the start and in the first steps I was in the front, so it felt really good, gave me a lot of confidence."
She said she never looked back as she felt that no-one was coming close to her.
"I just kept going," she said.
"It was really great to do a final like this and just skate in the front and go the fastest I can. I felt really strong, really confident, with no doubt. It's really good to not be scared to take the risk."
For 18-year-old Wang, the silver medal was the best individual result of her career.
"It's a good process," said Wang, who previously had won two 500m bronze medals this season.
"I've participated in all five stages of the World Cup. Every stage is a good process for me and gives me more experience."
Wang Ye (CHN), left, won her first individual silver medal following two 500m bronze medals in this season's World Cup. @ISU
She said she still needed to improve her game to be able to get past Velzeboer.
"She's so strong. I tried but she's the best skater," Wang said.
"I really enjoy skating with her and doing the race today, so congratulations to Xandra."
For full results, entry lists and further information about the 2023/24 ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating, please visit webpage here.
Where to watch
Viewers will be able to watch the Saturday and Sunday afternoon (local time) ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating 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.
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