Inzell, Germany

 #SpeedSkating        #WorldSpeed

Sven Kramer (NED) lost his 100 percent record in the 5000m at the ISU World Single Distances Championships when Sverre Lunde Pedersen (NOR) skated an immaculate race in Inzell on Thursday to dethrone the king and grab his first world title. Kramer ended up in third place and Patrick Roest (NED) took silver.

Team Netherlands WSDSSC 2019©International Skating Union (ISU) 1128283452

Team Netherlands at the ISU World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships 2019©International Skating Union (ISU)

Before the long-distance surprise, Ronald Mulder, Kai Verbij, and Kjeld Nuis (NED) won the men’s Team Sprint in 1:19.05. Republic of Korea's Jun-Ho Kim, Tae-Yun Kim and Min Kyu Cha took silver in 1:20.00 and Russia’s Ruslan Murashov, Pavel Kulizhnikov and Viktor Mushtakov clinched bronze in 1:20.10.

In the ladies’ events on the opening day of the championships, Martina Sáblíková (CZE) found redemption after losing her Olympic 5000m title in Pyeongchang a year ago. The 32-year-old Czech veteran, who had struggled with a back injury that caused her to consider quitting in the run-up to the Olympic Winter Games, proved she has returned stronger than ever, winning gold in the 3000m in a track. Antoinette de Jong (NED) took silver, while Russia's Natalya Voronina (RUS) took bronze.

Martina Sablikova (CZE) WSDSSC 2019©International Skating Union (ISU) 1128459451

Martina Sáblíková (CZE) at the ISU World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships 2019©International Skating Union (ISU)

Before the 3000m excitement, Janine Smit, Jutta Leerdam and Letitia de Jong (NED) opened the tournament by winning the first ever Team Sprint competition in the history of the World Single Distance Championships. Canada’s Kaylin Irvine, Heather McLean and Kali Christ took second place in 1 minute 27.21 seconds and favorites Russia Olga Fatkulina, Angelina Golikova, Daria Kachanova went home with the bronze medal in 1:27.26.

Team Netherlands Ladies WSDSSC 2019©International Skating Union (ISU) 1128283420

Team Netherlands at the ISU World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships 2019©International Skating Union (ISU)

After racing unbeaten in the 500m since November 2016, sprint queen Nao Kodaira (JPN) finally lost her crown to Vanessa Herzog (AUT) at the ISU World Single Distances Championships on Thursday. The Austrian challenger skated a personal best and a track record (37.12) on the rink in Inzell that she calls home to win the first world title of her career. Konami Soga (JPN) took bronze. 

Sisters Miho and Nana Takagi and Ayano Sato made amends for Kodaira’s loss, taking gold in the Team Pursuit. They set a track record time of 2:55.78 in the final pairing versus Russia’s Elizaveta Kazelina, Yevgenia Lalenkova and Natalya Voronina, who collected bronze in 2:57.72. The Netherlands (Antoinette de Jong, Ireen Wüst and Joy Beune) took silver in 2:56.20, despite having trained in this particular line-up only for the first time on the morning of the race.

In the men's competition Ruslan Murashov (RUS) stepped out of the shadow of his feted countryman Pavel Kulizhnikov to also win his first world title. The 26-year-old took gold in the Men’s 500m. the Norwegian Håvard Lorentzen skated a personal best to take silver while, Viktor Mushtakov (RUS) to hang on to the bronze medal with a personal best of 34.43.

Sven Kramer (NED) WSDSSC 2019©International Skating Union (ISU) 1128064505

Sven Kramer (NED) at the ISU World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships 2019©International Skating Union (ISU)

After losing his 5000m world title on Thursday, Sven Kramer wasted no time getting back on top of the podium, joined by Douwe de Vries and Marcel Bosker, when he anchored the Netherlands to victory over Norway in the Team Pursuit. Norway (Håvard Bøkko, Sverre Lunde Pedersen and Sindre Hendriksen) skated 3:40.80 to take silver and Russia’s Aleksandr Rumyantsev, Danila Semerikov and Sergey Trofimov clocked 3:41.31, clinching the bronze.

Veteran Martina Sáblíková (CZE) fended off the challenge of 23-year-old Olympic champion Esmee Visser (NED) to win her tenth consecutive 5000m world title on Day 3 of the World Single Distances Championships in Inzell on Saturday. Natalya Voronina (RUS) had to settle for the bronze medal. 

Brittany Bowe (USA) left the rest of the field far behind in the 1000m, breaking her own track record of 1:14.01 by 0.6 seconds. Vanessa Herzog managed to edge out the Nao Kodaira (JPN) for the silver medal in 1:14.38.

 

Before Verbij took the ice in the penultimate pairing in the 1000m, his good friend and former teammate Thomas Krol had been the first to skate under 1:08, breaking Kjeld Nuis’s 2018 track record by three hundredths of a second in 1:07.67.

Jorrit Bergsma (NED) took his third 10,000m world title in the day’s final event, edging out compatriot Patrick Roest by four-tenths of a second, while Danila Semerikov (RUS) pushed home favorite Patrick Beckert (GER) off the podium by a 0.002 margin.

Jorrit Bergsma (NED) WSDSSC 2019©International Skating Union (ISU) 1128490235

Jorrit Bergsma (NED) at the ISU World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships 2019©International Skating Union (ISU)

On an emotion-fuelled final day of the ISU World Single Distances Championships, Ireen Wüst (NED) won the Ladies’ 1500m in a track record time and tearfully dedicated her title to her friend and former World Allround champion Paulien van Deutekom, who died in January. Neither Miho Takagi (JPN) nor Brittany Bowe (USA) could match that in the two final pairs. The Japanese World Allround Champion took silver in 1:53.32, while the American followed up Saturday’s 1000m gold with a 1500m bronze in 1:53.36.

Irene Schouten (NED) after recapturing the Mass Start world title. Ivanie Blondin (CAN) finished second and Elizaveta Kazelina (RUS) took the bronze medal.

In the men's competition, Thomas Krol (NED) won his career first world title with an impressive track record in the 1500m. Sverre Lunde Pedersen (NOR) took the silver, while Denis Yuskov took bonze. 

The Men’s Mass Start was as spectacular as it was chaotic. Defending champion Joey Mantia (USA) watched it all happen and relied upon his experience to run away with gold in with a strong move in the final lap. Cheon-Ho Um (KOR) and Jaewon Chung (KOR) took silver and bronze.