SPEED SKATING
Beune (NED) wins 1500m but Takagi (JPN) takes World Cup Trophy
28 Feb 2025
Joy Beune (NED) won the last 1500m race of the World Cup season but Miho Takagi (JPN) secured the distance Trophy by coming in second in Heerenveen (NED). Before Beune’s victory, Femke Kok (NED) blew away the rest of the field in the 500m, winning the distance by a 0.60s margin over Kim Min Sun (KOR), who picked up her first World Cup medal of the season in second place. Erin Jackson (USA) took bronze to increase her margin at the top of the sprint ranking with just one race to go.
Beune back from break in style
Joy Beune (NED) had skipped the fifth World Cup in Poland last week, which put her chances of winning the distance Trophy at risk. Miho Takagi (JPN) took full advantage, taking gold at Tomaszów Mazowiecki’s Arena Lodowa and opening up a 60-point lead in the ranking.
“I don’t like to skip races,” Beune said. “I watched the race on television last week and I was really angry. I would have wanted to race, but deep down I also knew that I did it with the intention to be good at the World Championships in Hamar (NOR) next week (13-16 March).
“I just had to choose for a little rest in my head, instead of the hassle of traveling and racing.”
Joy Beune (NED) missed last week's World Cup in Poland but channelled her frustration to take gold in the final 1500m of the season. © ISU
Last week’s frustration had been a motivation too. In the eighth of 10 pairings, Beune set the bar at one minute and 53.70s, just 0.75s short of the track record set by Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong (NED) in December 2022. Rijpma-de Jong herself finished eighth in 1:55.45.
In the penultimate pairing, Marijke Groenewoud (NED) and Ragne Wiklund (NOR) could not come close to Beune’s time, but Takagi and Han Mei (CHN) got out of the blocks faster than their Dutch rival.
Han couldn’t maintain her pace after the fast start, but Takagi held a 0.30s advantage over Beune until the 1100m split. The Japanese world Champion eventually had to give way in the final lap, finishing in 1:53.99 to take second place and top the final World Cup ranking.
Han came in third in 1:54.52.
“I really wanted to win this one,” Beune said. “I knew I was in good shape.”
Despite taking home the distance Trophy, Takagi was not content.
“I wanted to win the last World Cup race here in Thialf. It’s a disappointment and I’m a little frustrated, but it also gives me motivation for the World Single Distance Championships in March."
Miho Takagi (JPN) secured the 1500m World Cup Trophy with her silver medal but was disappointed not to have won the last race of this year's circuit. © ISU
With Takagi and Beune on top of the podium, Han took home the bronze medal in the season ranking.
“I didn't expect to be able to get a third place. Today was good,” she said.
The Chinese skater had enjoyed the enthusiastic home crowd in a packed Thialf stadium.
“There’s magic in Thialf. I love skating here, the atmosphere is wonderful with all the people cheering.”
Kok rides the waves of home crowd
In the 500m, the crowd cheered loudest for Femke Kok (NED), who was born and raised a few kilometers from the spiritual home of Dutch speed skating.
“It’s fantastic to skate here,” she said. “You can feel that the crowd is supporting.”
On the waves of that crowd, the world 500m champion completed the 500m in 37.05s, just 0.08s slower than the track record she skated at the national championships here a little under a month ago.
Femke Kok (NED) thrilled the home crowd with victory in the 500m, finishing just short of her Heerenveen track record. © ISU
“I’m a little surprised that the gap [to the rest of the field] is getting bigger and bigger,” Kok said.
“I want to improve every time, and I just look at my own performance. I still think I can do better. Last week I trained a lot and I was curious where that would have gotten me. To see that my base level is 37.0-something is very good. I hope to even be faster on Sunday.”
Kok missed the first half of the season due to a viral infection but has won all four 500m World Cup races since her comeback. Like Beune, she also skipped the races last week in Poland.
“I had to take a little rest. Since my comeback, I skated many races and I really needed to take some time to fill up the tank again,” she explained.
Silver medal winner Kim Min Sun (KOR) and bronze medalist Erin Jackson (USA) couldn’t come close to Kok’s 37.05s, finishing in 37.65s and 37.71s respectively.
Erin Jackson (USA, right) won bronze to stay on top of the 500m ranking with one race to go. Kim Min Sun (KOR, left) took the silver. © ISU
Jackson commented: “It was a bit sloppy in the start and in the lap, then toward the end of the back stretch, I feel like I got into it a bit more, but technically, not a great race.”
The American wasn’t too worried about the gap to Kok. “I definitely think it's feasible. I have to do a lot better to bridge the gap. I need to get my openers to where they should be.”
With only Sunday’s race to come, Jackson expanded her gap over second-ranked Andzelika Wójcik (POL) in the 500m World Cup ranking. Wójcik finished 11th and now trails Jackson by 28 points.
“It’s coming down to the final one, there's a bit more of a gap now after today's race, but yeah, it's still between Angelica and me,” Jackson added.
Heerenveen program
The Heerenveen ISU World Cup Speed Skating will start with the first of two 500m races and the 1500m for both genders on Friday, February 28th, 2025. The program on Saturday March 1st comprises the 1000m for both genders, followed by the 3000m for women and the 5000m for men. On Sunday March 2nd, both genders will skate the Team Pursuit, the second 500m, and the Mass Start, before the event concludes with the Mixed Gender Relay.
ISU World Cup Speed Skating Series events 2024/25:
Nov 22 - 24, 2024 Nagano / JPN
Nov 29 - Dec 01, 2024 Beijing / CHN
Jan 24 - 26, 2025 Calgary CAN
Jan 31 - Feb 02, 2025 Milwaukee / USA
Feb 21 - 23, 2025 Tomaszów Mazowiecki / POL
Feb 28 - Mar 02, 2025 Heerenveen / NED
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