ISU Junior World Speed Skating Championships – Seinäjoki (FIN)
Karolina Erbanová (CZE) was crowned Junior Allround World Champions on the outdoor ice of Seinäjoki in Finland this weekend. She took the title with three distance victories. Thirty-four ladies and participated in the allround competition, and as single distances titles were also up for grabs, even more skaters participated in some of these events.
Ladies
Karolina Erbanová became world champion in the 500m, finishing second and first in the 500m races in 40.37 and 40.34 respectively. Her total points were 80.710. Last year’s 500m champion Yekaterina Aydova (KAZ) finished in second, with 40.31 and 40.67 (80.980), and Korean Hyun Yung Kim took bronze with 40.95 and 40.66. Kim and Aydova did not participate in the allround competition. Of the allround skaters, Karolina Erbanová was almost a second faster than the then second-and third-best, Miho Takagi and Misaki Oshigiri, both from Japan.
In the 1500m, Erbanová was again the strongest. She took the title in this distance with 2:03.86, gaining more than a second on the silver medallist Pien Keulstra (NED) who had already skated a track record with 2:04.94. Erbanová had already won the overall bronze last year. Hege Bøkko (NOR), last year’s runner-up, was now third with 2:05.05. Last year’s champion Lotte van Beek (NED) finished fourth in this distance. The lead for Erbanová increased even more with the 1000m, which she also won in 1:21.41, again well ahead of the silver medallist in that distance, Bøkko. As a result, Bøkko climbed to second in the ranking, being even on points with Van Beek, who was fourth again with 1:22.46. In third place at this distance was Kali Christ (CAN).
The final 3000m was the only distance that Erbanová did not win. But her 11th place at that distance was enough to give her the overall victory. The distance gold was taken by Do-Yeong Park (KOR), a true distance skater, who won in 4:21.51, a track record. Her team-mate Bo-Reum Kim finished in second with 4:23.55, and Keulstra was third in 4:25.81. Keulstra moved up to second in the rankings, as Bøkko finished in 4:32.50 and Van Beek in 4:29.75, the fifth place at the distance. Van Beek managed to keep the overall bronze, as Takagi with 4:28.00 came just short for the overall podium.
In the team pursuit, the Dutch ladies’ team (last year the winner), was disqualified because of crossing the line in the qualifying heats. Thanks to this, the USA was able to participate in the finals together with Japan, Korea and Canada. Korea won in 3:14.95, a track record, Japan was second and Canada came third.
