Femke Kok continued her dominant form by setting a new track record at the World Cup event in Inzell, Germany, while Miho Takagi secured the 1500m World Cup Trophy despite Joy Beune’s undefeated season finishes.
Source: ISU Skating, International Skating Union, global
On the opening day of the final World Cup competition for the season in Inzell, Netherlands’ Femke Kok broke the 37-second barrier on the women’s 500m distance, finishing with a time of 36.87 seconds. This performance marked Kok’s 23rd consecutive World Cup victory in the 500m, extending her streak since February 2024. Kok’s time was 0.20 seconds faster than her own previous track record at the Max Aicher Arena and put her comfortably ahead of silver medalist Jutta Leerdam from the Netherlands and bronze medalist Kaja Ziomek-Nogal from Poland, who both recorded close finishing times.
In the 1500m race, Joy Beune from the Netherlands maintained her winning streak by finishing first in Inzell, securing a fourth consecutive World Cup gold in this distance. However, Beune missed the chance to compete in the 1500m at the Milano Cortina Olympic Games due to a failure to qualify in the Dutch trials. As a result, Miho Takagi of Japan was awarded the World Cup Trophy for the 1500m based on her consistent performances throughout the season, despite finishing second behind Beune in the Inzell race. Norwegian skater Ragne Wiklund earned the bronze medal.
Kok reflected on her performance, noting that she had missed some ice time due to a training camp after the stress of Dutch Olympic qualifiers, but felt positive despite this. Fellow Dutch skater Jutta Leerdam expressed satisfaction with her pacing during the race, which she hopes will benefit her in both the 500m and 1000m Olympic events. Meanwhile, American Erin Jackson finished fourth in the 500m and was encouraged to be competing again after recovering from a back injury.
Beune expressed mixed feelings about her World Cup successes, stating that her victories felt hollow due to missing the Olympic opportunity in her preferred distance. Both Takagi and Wiklund sympathized with Beune’s situation and remarked on the competitiveness of Olympic qualification. Wiklund also recovered from a recent training fall to earn her bronze medal and suggested that the Dutch federation reconsider their Olympic qualification procedures.
Looking ahead, Takagi emphasized her focus on personal skating performance regardless of competitors and noted the importance of continued improvement before the Olympic Games. Kok, with one more 500m race remaining this season, has already secured the World Cup Trophy for that distance.
