Nikola Zdráhalová secured the gold medal in the 1000-meter event at the European Speed Skating Championships held in Tomaszów, Poland, with Chloé Hoogendoorn taking silver and Isabel Grevelt winning bronze.
According to NOS, the Czech skater Nikola Zdráhalová finished the final race with a time of 1:16.06, three tenths of a second ahead of Hoogendoorn. The Dutch skater, who was 21 years old, expressed satisfaction with her silver medal despite having hoped for gold. Isabel Grevelt earned the bronze medal with a time of 1:16.37, marking her second bronze at the championships after also medaling in the 500 meters.
Initially, Isabel Grevelt had not planned to race in the 1000 meters. She stepped in after Anna Boersma withdrew due to fatigue. Grevelt performed well under these unexpected circumstances and secured third place, finishing just ahead of fellow Dutch skater Naomi Verkerk, who narrowly missed a podium spot by three hundredths of a second. Verkerk had also come close to Olympic qualification earlier in the season.
Earlier in the competition, the Dutch women’s team consisting of Sanne in ‘t Hof, Evelien Vijn, and Kim Talsma won gold in the team pursuit event. Despite being a newly formed team without prior joint experience, they finished with a time of 3:01.35, comfortably ahead of Belgium and host nation Poland. Their victory was notable as the Netherlands’ top team was preparing for the upcoming Olympic Games and did not participate in the championships.
On the men’s side, the Dutch team of Louis Hollaar, Kars Jansman, and Wisse Slendebroek won silver in the team pursuit, finishing behind Italy. Meanwhile, in the women’s mass start event, Kim Talsma finished fifth after a strong final sprint. The race was won by Denmark’s Sofia Thorup, who made history by earning the first-ever gold medal for Denmark in speed skating. Thorup narrowly beat Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida and Belgium’s Fran Vanhoutte to claim the top spot.
