At the Inzell World Cup, Kaja Ziomek-Nogal and Sophie Warmuth finished ahead of Marrit Fledderus on the 500 meters, while Marijke Groenewoud won the mass start event ahead of the upcoming Winter Olympics.
NOS Schaatsen in the Netherlands reports on the latest results from the World Cup speed skating competitions held in Inzell.
Marrit Fledderus won the bronze medal in the 500 meter race, finishing behind Poland’s Kaja Ziomek-Nogal and Germany’s Sophie Warmuth. This achievement comes one month after a disappointing Olympic qualification tournament in which Fledderus missed the chance to compete in the 500 meters at the Winter Games due to two false starts. She admitted that the weeks following the qualification event were difficult as she had to come to terms with losing her Olympic dream in that distance.
Ziomek-Nogal claimed first place with a time of 37.25 seconds, outpacing Warmuth, who finished second in 37.61 seconds, and Fledderus at 37.62 seconds. Ziomek-Nogal had already placed second twice this season in World Cup events. The reigning Olympic champion, Erin Jackson, finished seventh with a time of 37.85 seconds, a result considered slightly disappointing.
Notably, Dutch skaters Femke Kok and Jutta Leerdam withdrew from the second 500 meter event weekend to focus on the upcoming Olympics. Kok had won the first 500 meter race on Friday and Leerdam had placed second but both chose to skip the Sunday race to prioritize preparations for the Winter Games starting in two weeks. Kok will be defending her World Cup 500 meter title after winning all seven events she participated in this season.
On the teamsprint, the Dutch team consisting of Fledderus, Naomi Verkerk, and Isabel Grevelt took gold with a time of 1.25.52, well ahead of Canada and Germany. Grevelt also delivered a strong individual performance on the 500 meters, finishing with a time equal to the Kazakh skater Kristina Silaeva and sharing fourth place overall.
In the mass start event, Marijke Groenewoud won decisively with a comfortable lead, finishing ahead of Canadian Valerie Maltais and American Mia Manganello, who secured the overall World Cup ranking for the season. Although Groenewoud secured the race victory, she expressed some disappointment for not winning the overall classification, explaining that her seventeenth place in the Salt Lake City World Cup had impacted her chances.
