Marijke Groenewoud (NED) in the Women's Mass Start final at the ISU World Cup Speed Skating at Arena Lodowa, Poland © ISU
After Marijke Groenewoud (NED) beat Miho Takagi (JPN) in the 1500m to take her first World Cup win on Saturday, Kimi Goetz (USA) did the exactly same thing in the 1000m on Sunday. On the podium, the 29-year-old American was accompanied by compatriot and world record holder Brittany Bowe, who won her first World Cup medal of this season in third place behind Takagi. Groenewoud added another gold to her tally on Sunday, concluding a superb weekend with a powerful sprint in the mass start.
Goetz adapts best to Tomaszów Mazowiecki ice
“Obviously there’s no Jutta here, so that opened the door for a gold,” said Goetz modestly, after having won her maiden World Cup gold. World Cup leader Jutta Leerdam (NED) decided to skip the first of two World Cup weekends in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, after having won the first four 1000m races.
Kimi Goetz (USA) in the Women's 1000m in the ISU World Cup Speed Skating at Arena Lodowa © ISU
Goetz still had to deal with Olympic champion Takagi, however, and she faced the 29-year-old Japanese in the final pairing of the 1000m.
“It was my second time ever being paired with Miho, so I was excited to see what I could do head-to-head with her. Obviously she's an incredible competitor.”
Goetz adapted well to the ice at the Arena Lodowa, which tends to be slower than the high altitude track of the previous World Cups in Calgary or the Thialf rink in Heerenveen, where the World Championships will be held on 2-5 March.
“I think on this ice, I just have to keep my feet moving,” Goetz explained. “I feel like if my tempo gets too slow, it's going to really hurt me here. So I just tried to have fast feet, and then all season the goal has been trying to be under 18.0s in the opener.”
With 17.87s, she managed her goal for the opener and went on to clock the fastest first full lap of the field in 27.68s. Takagi was 0.26s behind at the 600m split, and despite being faster in the final lap, she wasn’t able to catch up with Goetz. The American finished in 1:16.00, with Takagi crossing the line 0.18s later.
Takagi was not satisfied with her skating in Tomaszów Mazowiecki.
Miho Takagi (JPN) in the Women's 1000m in the ISU World Cup Speed Skating © ISU
“It was better than yesterday [in the 1500m], especially mentally,” she said. “Still, my skating is not what it should be.
“Johan [her coach Johan de Wit (NED] told me: if I want to be better, I have to fight.
“I’m thinking about my skating and sometimes I’m thinking too much.”
Long before Goetz and Takagi raced in the final pairing, Bowe had already set a time of 1:16.43. After having altered her pre-season routine in the post-Olympic year, she was happy to finally make it to the podium in a World Cup race.
Brittany Bowe (USA) in the 1000m in the ISU World Cup Speed Skating © ISU
“I started a little late and then made a transition in training with the long distance team this year,” said Bowe. “I’m just focusing on building that engine and starting from scratch, and seeing how strong we can get.
“I would be lying if I said it was easy coming out here and not podium in every race, but I just have to keep reminding myself what the ultimate goal is at the end.”
Bowe did, however, enjoy being back on the podium:
“It feels really good. I’m always gunning for that top position, but to share the podium today with Kimi, with her first World Cup win after a spectacular year so far, is really exciting.”
Groenewoud goes for gold
In the mass start, Marijke Groenewoud wrapped up the most successful World Cup weekend of her career so far with a dominant sprint, leaving Ivanie Blondin (CAN) and Mia Kilburg (USA) behind on the final straight. She thus added another win to her 1500m gold and 3000m bronze.
“This is a great finish to my weekend, it couldn’t be better,” she said.
“It was a slow race,” she admitted. “I skated up front in the first lap and when I gave way, everybody got up.
"I thought: if nobody’s going to make pace, it’s going to take quite a while.
“With us [the women’s mass start competition], it’s a bit like skating 15 laps and then sprinting very fast to the line. But anyway, gold is gold, so I’m happy for sure.”
Behind Groenwoud, Blondin struggled throughout the race after having skated all distances except for the 500m at the World Cup weekend. Still she managed to sprint for silver, even after touching boots with Laura Peveri (ITA) on the final straight.
“I was just trying to get myself to the finish line,” said Blondin. It's been a long weekend for me as always. I'll be tapering it back next weekend because obviously it's a lot.
“I don’t think I’ll be racing the 1000m next week, so that's a little easier on me. But I will skate the Team Sprit because it’s such a fun event.”
Ivanie Blondin (CAN), left, Marijke Groenewoud (NED), centre, Mia Kilburg (USA) after the Women's Mass Start Final
Mia Kilburg (USA) pipped Peveri to the line to seize mass start bronze. The Italian struggled to stay on her feet after touching blades with Blondin, and crashed on the line when she stretched her leg too far to try and keep Kilburg at bay.
“It was really close,” said Kilburg. “Luckily, I wasn't physically close to her, because that could have been a little dangerous. Fortunately, I had a bit more speed coming around that last corner.
“I’m pretty sure it's the slowest race we've had this year. I think a lot of people were keeping an eye on the Dutch, obviously they're always the ones to beat.
“But the slower, the race, the more dangerous it tends to be. It was pretty aggressive there up until basically one [lap] to go. And then it was a bunch sprint, which always makes things difficult.”
Program
The first of two back-to-back Tomaszów Mazowiecki World Cups starts with the 1500m and the Team Pursuit for Men, and the 500m and 3000m for Women on Friday. On Saturday the Women will skate the 1500m and the Team Pursuit, while the Men take on the 500m and the 5000m, and the Sunday schedule features the 1000m and Mass Start for both genders.
For all information about the ISU World Cup Speed Skating Series, please visit the webpage here.
World Cup Standings - Men
World Cup Standings - Women
Where to watch
Viewers will be able to watch the World Cup sessions (local time) via their national broadcaster/channel.
For countries where there are no broadcasters, 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 Speed Skating Series events 2022/23:
Nov 11 - 13, 2022 Stavanger /NOR
Nov 18 - 20, 2022 Heerenveen/ NED
Dec 09 - 11, 2022 Calgary /CAN
Dec 16 - 18, 2022 Calgary /CAN
Feb 10 - 12, 2023 Tomaszów Mazowiecki /POL
Feb 17 - 19, 2023 World Cup Final - Tomaszów Mazowiecki /POL
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