Femke Kok secured her first world sprint title on Friday, concluding a remarkable season with a complete Dutch sweep of the podium at the World Sprint Championships in Thialf.
NOS Schaatsen, Netherlands
At the age of 25, Kok demonstrated her dominance on the second day of competition by winning all distances contested. She was joined on the podium by fellow Dutch skaters Suzanne Schulting and Marrit Fledderus in second and third place, respectively. This marked the first time in the history of the World Sprint Championships that an entirely Dutch podium was achieved for either men or women. Kok became the fourth Dutch athlete to win the world sprint title, following Marianne Timmer, Jorien Ter Mors, and Jutta Leerdam.
Reflecting on her victory, Kok expressed her satisfaction with closing the season on a high note and appreciated the strong support from the crowd at Thialf. She noted that while the Olympic Games had been her main peak earlier in the year, the pressure of the event required her to refocus and recharge. Kok credited her disciplined approach for achieving her goals and described the season as a dream come true. Her first world title came after finishing second in both the 2022 and 2024 championships, and she highlighted setting a new track record of 36.67 seconds on the 500 meters at the start of the tournament.
The second day began with a moment of uncertainty when Kok committed a false start on the 500 meters by stepping just over the line. Despite this, she performed a cautious but still impressive second start, finishing with a time of 36.76 seconds. Kok acknowledged the misstep but emphasized her composure subsequently. She maintained her calm during the 1,000-meter event, recording a time of 1:13.38, which was notably seven tenths ahead of runner-up Schulting.
Suzanne Schulting, who had a challenging 1,000 meters in the Olympics, concluded her season with a strong performance at the World Sprint Championships. Coming off a win at the Dutch Allround Championships and solid showings at the World Allround Championships, Schulting secured second place without it being seriously contested throughout the weekend. The competition brought moments of satisfaction and smiles for Schulting, signaling a positive end to her season.
Marrit Fledderus battled closely with Poland’s Kaja Ziomek-Nogal for third place. In the 500 meters, Fledderus engaged in a tight contest with Ziomek-Nogal, missing out by a tenth of a second. Nonetheless, on the 1,000 meters, the 24-year-old Dutch skater managed to keep her slight overall lead and clinched the bronze despite fatigue from the event.
The championships also saw Jenning de Boo become a world sprint champion on Friday evening, contributing to a successful outing for the Dutch team under trainer Gerard van Velde at Reggeborgh. The last occasion with two Dutch world sprint champions was in 2022 when Thomas Krol and Jutta Leerdam took the titles.
