Joy Beune secured another victory in the 1500 meter event at the third World Cup race of the season held in Heerenveen, while American skater Jordan Stolz set a new track record in the men’s competition.
According to De Telegraaf in the Netherlands, 26-year-old Joy Beune posted a time of 1:53.10 in the penultimate race, finishing ahead of Japanese world record holder Miho Takagi, who placed fifth with a time of 1:53.89. This victory marked Beune’s third World Cup win this season, after previous successes in Salt Lake City and Calgary. The competition was closely contested, with the top seven finishers all within one second. Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong took the silver with 1:53.36 and Canadian Ivanie Blondin earned bronze in 1:53.43. Other Dutch competitors included Angel Daleman in sixth, Marijke Groenewoud placing eleventh, and Melissa Wijfje finishing twelfth.
In the men’s 1000 meters, American Jordan Stolz broke the previous track record set by Dutch skater Jenning de Boo. Stolz completed the distance in 1:06.38, surpassing de Boo’s time of 1:07.08. Finnish skater Finn Sonnekalb finished second in 1:07.41, with Tim Prins claiming third place in 1:07.49. De Boo ended up fourth, clocking in at 1:07.60. Early races saw 36-year-old Kjeld Nuis post a time of 1:07.83, followed by Joep Wennemars with 1:07.75, placing sixth and seventh respectively.
On the 10-kilometer distance, Dutch skaters finished outside the podium positions. Jorrit Bergsma was the highest-placed Dutch competitor in fifth with a time of 12:45.46. The race was won by young Czech skater Metodej Jilek, who recorded 12:29.63. World champion Davide Ghiotto from Italy took silver in 12:33.37, while Timothy Loubineaud of France, the current 5000-meter world record holder, earned bronze with 12:36.61. Notably, Chris Huizinga faded in the final laps to finish eighth, and Beau Snellink made his A-group debut in the longer distances, finishing tenth. Dutch athletes have yet to reach the podium in the 5000-meter events this season in Salt Lake City and Calgary as well.
