Jordan Stolz (USA) set a national record while seizing 1000m gold at the ISU Four Continents Championships in Salt Lake City, USA on Sunday, while his compatriots Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman and Ethan Cepuran edged out Canada by .04 seconds to win the Team Pursuit. Chung Jae Won (KOR) brought the championships to a conclusion by retaining his Mass Start title with a powerful sprint to the line.
Jordan Stolz set a new national record over 1000m while winning gold at the Four Continents Championships in Salt Lake City, USA © ISU
Stolz tops legendary Davis
Stolz completed his 1000m race in 1:06.27, shaving .15 second off the national record set by the legendary Shani Davis on March 7, 2009 at the same rink. That mark stood as a world record for 10 years, before Kjeld Nuis (NED) broke it in 2019.
Davis coached Stolz as a junior and the pupil was proud to have finally beaten his mentor.
“I'm happy about it. I don't know if Shani is happy about it. I'm sure he'll talk to me. Maybe he'll come back to skating now,” he joked.
The race did not go completely according to plan for Stolz. The world champion was caught by surprise when his pairmate Taiyo Nonomura (JPN) took the lead at the 600m split.
“My opener was good. I went a little cautiously into that second inner, because I know it's a little tough going fast through that, trying not to hit the blocks, because then you get disqualified. So I was just patient in there. I relax on the backstretch and then attack the overturn. And then I saw (Nonomura) do 4.3 (a 24.3-second first full lap) and I was like: this can't be anything that he would be going that fast, so then I just attacked it, everything I could in that last lap.”
Going flat out, Stolz was able to pass Nonomura, but the 22-year-old Japanese sprinter managed to keep it close, finishing in 1:06.68. It was the first international medal at the senior level for Nonomura, who became the first Japanese skater to break the 1:07 barrier in the 1000m. He was thrilled.
“At the Four Continents Championships I wanted to step up and show that I’m competitive in a senior competition, so I’m very happy I managed to do just that. The national record was my goal today, so I’m really satisfied.”
Taiyo Nonomura set a Japanese record over 1000m at the Four Continents Championships in Salt Lake City, USA © ISU
Tatsuya Shinhama (JPN) took home bronze. Although the sprinter had skated 500m races at Salt Lake City before, he had never done a 1000m at a high-altitude rink. He finished in 1:07.04, crushing his personal best by more than a second.
“My goal was to go under 1:08, so I’m satisfied with my time, which means more to me than getting the medal.”
Tatsuya Shinhama grabbed 1000m bronze at the Four Continents Championships in Salt Lake City, USA © ISU
USA edges out Canada
The Team Pursuit came down to the USA and Canada. Antoine Gelina-Beaulieu, Hayden Mayeur and Connor Howe (CAN) stopped the clock at 3:36.84 in the penultimate pairing, before the Americans came on in the final heat to snatch gold.
Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman and Ethan Cepuran snagged Team Pursuit gold at the Four Continents Championships in Salt Lake City, USA © ISU
Favorites Dawson, Lehman and Cepuran started slower than their Canadian rivals, only to post faster split times six laps into the eight-lap-race. The margins were small, however, and the USA had a .04-second gap at the finish line. It was a tough race, Cepuran said.
“No Team Pursuit ever feels like roses and daisies. It all by the end of the day hurts a lot. But we got into a good rhythm in the middle. I almost slipped up the first 200m, but we felt strong. It definitely hurt toward the end, but that’s what the Team Pursuit is.”
Dawson said they should be able to build on the win.
“Right now, we’re kind of in the training phase of the whole season, and we go towards the World Championships. So these next couple of weeks, we’re just tuning in our lap times, just getting things moving and getting ready for (the World Single Distance Championships in) Calgary in a couple of weeks."
Despite missing out on the gold medal, Howe was satisfied.
“We know they’re one of the best, so if we’re close to that time it means we’re doing something right.”
Canada skated its preferred lineup for the first time this season, Gélinas-Beaulieu said.
“Hayden was our third guy last year, with whom we had a lot of success. But unfortunately he wasn't able to qualify for the World Cups this year, so we had to find another option. We tried a few and the races didn't work out as we want it, but now that Hayden was with us, we're happy to get back the team. It's a good composition.”
Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu, Connor Howe and Hayden Mayeur secured Team Pursuit silver for Canada at the Four Continents Championships in Salt Lake City, USA © ISU
Despite their success, Howe and Gélinas-Beaulieu will not skate the Team Pursuit at next week’s World Cup because of the scheduling, Gélinas-Beaulieu said.
“It's right before the 1500m. It is quite important to qualify for us, so we’re going to focus on that. But Hayden’s there to bring that experience to the other guys that haven’t skated and we’ll be back in this lineup at the World Championships.”
Japan’s Seitaro Ichinohe, Riku Tsuchiya and Shomu Sasaki took the bronze medal in 3:42.08.
Riku Tsuchiya, Shomu Sasaki and Seitaro Ichinohe finished third in Team Pursuit at the Four Continents Championships in Salt Lake City, USA © ISU
Chung retains Mass Start title
After his Team Pursuit effort, Gélinas-Beaulieu also skated the Mass Start to conclude his Four Continents weekend. Heading into the final lap of the race, the Canadian attacked, trying to leave his rivals behind and to catch Vitaliy Chshigolev (KAZ), who had set up a solo breakaway with four laps to go.
He didn’t know “how much juice” Chshigolev had left, and Gélinas-Beaulieu realized it was a risk to wait.
“Usually in the World Cup, I try to position myself really good at the end. I tried to repeat that, but going a lap before the end maybe was a little bit too long. Also, I burned some cartridges before when I tried to close the gap with the attacks. That cost a lot of energy, and that with the whole weekend and the Team Pursuit, I didn't have a lot of legs at the end. But it's good news for the rest of this season. Next World Cup, the World Championships also. I have some good speed right now and good endurance. I got caught by the Japanese and the Korean at the end, but still I'm happy with my race and I'm happy with my weekend.”
Chung Jae Won and Shomu Sasaki both passes Gélinas-Beaulieu in a powerful sprint on the final straight.
It was the second-straight Four Continents Mass Start title for Chung, while Sasaki, at 17 still a junior, claimed his first international podium at the senior level.
Mass Start medallists Shomu Sasaki, Chung Jae Won and Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieuat the Four Continents Championships in Salt Lake City, USA © ISU
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