Joy Beune won the final international 1,500-meter speed skating event before the Olympic Games, while Femke Kok set a new track record in the 500 meters at the World Cup in Inzell.
NOS, Netherlands
Joy Beune claimed victory in the 1,500 meters at the World Cup event in Inzell, finishing well ahead of her Dutch compatriots Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong and Marijke Groenewoud. Beune’s winning time of 1:53.43 was over a second and a half faster than Rijpma-de Jong’s 1:54.92 and Groenewoud’s 1:55.07, who placed seventh and eighth respectively. Despite this triumph, Beune expressed mixed feelings as she will not have the opportunity to compete in her preferred distance at the upcoming Olympic Games in Milan, having missed qualification in the Olympic qualifying tournament.
By winning in Inzell, Beune also secured the overall World Cup title in the 1,500 meters. She briefly aimed to break her own track record during the race but fell short. The silver and bronze medals went to Miho Takagi and Ragne Wiklund, respectively.
In the women’s 500 meters, Femke Kok demonstrated strong form by setting a new track record of 36.87 seconds, breaking her previous record significantly. Kok’s time was more than three-tenths of a second faster than second-place Jutta Leerdam and third-place Kaja Ziomek-Nogal. Kok, the reigning world champion, achieved her 23rd consecutive win in this distance, thereby confirming her lead in the World Cup rankings. Despite a recent groin injury, reigning Olympic champion Erin Jackson finished fourth with a time of 37.44 seconds.
Jutta Leerdam used the 500 meters event effectively as preparation for her favored 1,000 meters, finishing with her fifth-best time ever of 37.22 seconds. Meanwhile, Marrit Fledderus, who is not participating in the Olympic Games, finished ninth with a time of 37.97. The schedule includes a second 500 meters race on Sunday.
