SPEED SKATING
Sonnekalb defends Junior title, as Shumekova aims to make Kazakh history
26 Feb 2026
With the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 in the books, it's time for a new generation to make their mark. At this weekend's ISU Speed Skating Junior World Championships in Inzell, we'll see the Olympic Champions of the future, with four of the gold medal winners in Milan seizing titles at previous Junior World Championships.
Sonnekalb the favorite
Jordan Stolz (USA) won the Olympic 500m and 1000m titles. In 2023, the American took three distance wins and the Allround title at the Junior World Championships. Milan 10,000m Champion Metoděj Jílek (CZE) won the 5000m and Mass Start events at last season's World Championships.
The Czech endurance specialist is no longer eligible for the Junior ranks, but Finn Sonnekalb (GER) is. The German prodigy, pictured above, won last year's Junior Allround title and broke Stolz's 1500m Junior World Record this season. Sonnekalb also skated at the Olympic Games in Milan, but was not at his best because of illness and ended up 12th in the 1000m and 13th in the 1500m.
Other medal contenders in the Men's competition are Seonung Shin (KOR), Han Man-Hyeok (KOR), Kim Junha (KOR), Ede Kortlever (NED), and Whang Seojoon (KOR). Shin won the 500m Junior World Cup, Han the 1000m, Kim the 1500m, Kortlever the 3000m, and Whang the Mass Start.
Seonung Shin (KOR) will look to rival Finn Sonnekalb for medals in Inzell © Getty Images
Shumekova heading for first Kazakh Junior World Title
Of the women's Olympic Champions in Milan, Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong (NED), Femke Kok (NED) and Jutta Leerdam (NED) previously won an ISU Junior World title, but their Junior days are far behind.
At the moment, Kristina Shumekova (KAZ) is the girl to beat in the Junior category. She won the 1000m and the 3000m Junior World Cup this season and she could become the first Junior World Allround Champion from Kazakhstan.
Kristina Shumekova is looking to make history for Kazakhstan © Getty Images
Shumekova's main rival will probably be Mette ten Cate (NED), who won this season's Mass Start World Cup, while finishing second in the 1500m.
Neele Göpelt (GER) is a medal contender in the 1500m and possibly in the Allround classification. Poland’s Hanna Mazur and Wiktoria Dąbrowska are medal contenders in the sprint distances.
