Essent ISU World Single Distance Championships – Inzell (GER)
The famous ice-rink in Inzell – with its superb view on the mountains – re-opened under a new roof on the occasion of the Essent World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships. The track records established in the open rink should be cherished as relics, as faster track records were set at all distances under the new roof. Yet there were not many surprise winners. Returning champions were Jenny Wolf, Christine Nesbitt, Ireen Wüst (at 1500, initially at 3000), Martina Sáblíkova, Shani Davis took their first distance titles. There were four personal bests in the ladies field.
Thursday
The first distance skated was the ladies’ 3000m. Ireen Wüst (NED) skated a new track record, 4:01.56, with a very fast start, and in the end only two difficult laps of 32.9 and 33.9. Stephanie Beckert (GER) was the next of the favourites to race. Her opening laps are always slow, but usually she has a fast lap at the end. However, Wüst’s time was too much for her, and she finished in 4:04.28, which eventually gave her bronze. Finally, Martina Sáblíková (CZE) appeared on the ice. With two laps to go, she was three seconds behind the time of Wüst, then gained a second with a 31.9 lap, but couldn’t add another 31-second lap, and she finished in 4:02.07, winning the silver medal, just like two years ago. Wüst therefore became the World Champion, the 8th skater to win the 3000m in the last eight events.
Friday
Friday started with a moment of silence for the victims of the tsunami in Japan.
In the 1500m for ladies, Sábliková and Marrit Leenstra (NED) had to withdraw, as they were not feeling well. Reserve skater Jorien Voorhuis was only told in the morning that she would take Leenstra’s place, but she did surprisingly well, taking the lead with 1:57.30. The second Dutch skater, Diane Valkenburg, managed to get well below that time with 1:56.27 – her laps of 28.4, 29.9 and 31.7 were faster than everyone else’s. Wüst was the third Dutch skater, and she impressed the crowd with a perfect race. Opening in 25.87, she had laps of 28.2, 29.2 and 31.4, and brought the track record to 1:54.80. Regular medal-winner Christine Nesbitt (CAN) started fast with 25.25, and also skated a 28.2 lap, but she couldn’t continue at this pace, and slowed down. She finally reached 1:57.83, with a 30.3 and a 33.9 lap, only the fifth time she had achieved this (Russia’s Yekaterina Shikhova was fourth with 1:57.78). The podium was all orange, even with the large gaps between the times of the Dutch ladies. Wüst remarked: “It was really great, especially the second lap. All the pushes were right, and I could make speed in the turns. This is my distance!” In the audience, some people carried the slogan “Wustering Heights”, a play on words on the title of the 19th century novel by Emily Brontë.
Saturday
Wüst saw the 1000m as a chance to win a third gold medal. She opened in 18.57; then came a 27.7 lap, where no-one had previously been faster than 28.0, and her final lap was 29.1, bringing her to a new track record of 1:15.42. It was the only time achieved below the outdoor track record of local hero Friesinger when the last pair came, with defending and Olympic Champion Nesbitt and World Cup winner Heather Richardson (USA). Richardson had the fastest opening in the field with 17.89, while Nesbitt with 18.26 was also faster than Wüst. They both then had an exceptional lap of 27.4, but then it looked like Richardson had blown up, and Nesbitt came past her through the last inner turn and – with a 29.1 final lap – was the clear winner in 1:14.84. Richardson struggled, and with a 30.1 final lap she just missed the time of silver winner Wüst: this meant a time of 1:15.45 and bronze for Richardson.
In the 5000m ladies, the defending champion and World Cup winner Sábliková was the main favourite. Usually her main battle is with Beckert, and Wüst didn’t race in the 5000m. All eyes were on Claudia Pechstein (GER), returning strongly after a two-year absence. The 39-year-old, who won her first Olympic medal at this distance in 1992, raced to 7:00.90. Not yet a track record, but it was good enough for the bronze medal, her eleventh medal at the 5000m in the World Distance Championships. Sábliková skated an very flat race, with laptimes between 32.3 and 32.6, and set a new track record, 6:50.83. In the final pair, Beckert was also below the former track record, but she could not keep her laptimes low enough. 6:54.99 gave her silver.
Sunday
Sunday was the day for the 500m races. Unlike at the Olympics, both 500m races are skated here on the same day. Jenny Wolf (GER) won her fourth 500m title in a row. Annette Gerritsen (NED) was the first to skate a track record, in 38.14, Jenny Wolf won the first race in 37.98, and in the last pair Olympic champion Sang-Hwa Lee (KOR) skated the same time as Gerritsen. There was a new personal best for Hong Zhang (CHN), at 38.48, fifth behind her team-mate Beixing Wang, who skated 38.35. In the second race, Judith Hesse (GER) skated a personal best of 38.13 and reached 5th overall. Beixing Wang and Sang-Hwa Lee were paired, and helped each other to fast times: 38.03 for Lee, 38.04 for Wang. Wolf and Gerritsen skated in the final pair. Wolf opened in 10.29 and set a faster track record of 37.95. Gerritsen had a big mis-stroke at the start, and as a result her 38.33 meant she was just off the podium. The total times over two races were 75.93 for Wolf, 76.16 for Lee and 76.39 for Wang, who finished third after four silver medals in the four previous events of this tournament.
The Canadian Ladies won the Team Pursuit just like last time. Silver was won by the Dutch ladies, for whom Wüst was at times too fast for Valkenburg, and bronze went to the German team. Winning times were 2.59.74 for the ladies which was a track record.
