#SpeedSkating

Two 10-year-old track records went off the board in the women’s competition on the second day of the ISU World Cup in Milwaukee on Saturday. Joy Beune (NED) beat Miho Takagi (JPN) in a time of one minute and 52.11s in the 1500m, shaving over a second off Brittany Bowe’s (USA) 2015 track record, while Femke Kok (NED) finished the 500m in 37.11s, taking .13s off the mark Heather Bergsma (USA) set in 2015.

‘Better than last week’

Last week in Calgary, Joy Beune (NED, pictured above) snapped the seven-race winning streak by Miho Takagi (JPN) in a head-to-head battle.

In Milwaukee, the 25-year-old Dutchwoman started in the final pairing versus Brittany Bowe (USA), who had already lost her track record when Francesca Lollobrigida (ITA) skated 1:52.23 in the sixth of 10 pairings. Takagi went .10s faster in the penultimate pairing, before Beune came up with an almost immaculate 1500m race.

Women’s 1500m podium, modeling Wisconsin ‘cheeseheads’: Miho Takagi of Japan, Joy Beune of Netherlands, Francesca Lollobrigida of Italy. © ISU

“I had a short night,” Beune said. “I made quite a few mistakes in the 3000m [in which she finished third on Friday], and I wanted to make amends today. I lay awake thinking about it, but it didn’t affect my race today. On the contrary, I had a good feeling on the ice today, and I learned from my mistakes.”

Beune was about .1s of a second ahead of Takagi’s time at the 700m and 1100m split, making the difference with an unmatched 30.27s final lap to keep the Japanese leader in the World Cup ranking .71s behind.

“To beat her by such a big margin is actually even better than [beating Takagi head-to-head] last week,” said Beune.

Takagi had also been struggling with her final lap last week in Calgary. She took a close look at Beune’s strategy.

Miho Takagi of Japan skates to silver in the women’s 1500m at the ISU World Cup in Milwaukee, USA. © ISU

“Her [Beune’s} skating gives me more of an idea of how to skate faster myself, not specifically her technique, but especially the way she paces her race,” the Japanese world 1500m champion said.

While previous track record holder Bowe had to settle for sixth place in 1:54.12, Lollobrigida added a bronze medal to Friday’s 3000m gold.

“I was feeling a little sore in the legs after the 3000m,” she said. “My opening was fast, but then my first lap wasn’t. The last lap was pretty good, but I have to improve the first section of my race.”

Being competitive in both the longer distances and the 1500m make the 34-year-old Italian eager for the World Championships in Hamar, Norway, in March.

Francesca Lollobrigida of Italy, who won bronze in the women’s 1500m,  really wants to medal at the World Championships next month. © ISU

“I never won a medal in the World Championships. [I won] at the Europeans, at the Olympics, wherever, but not at the World Championships. That’s what I want, no matter which color,” Lollobrigida said. “This will probably be my last World Championship, because next year there is the Olympics.”

Despite coming in second, Takagi retained the lead in the 1500m World Cup ranking, with Beune 16 points behind in second. Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong (NED), who finished eighth at the Pettit National Ice Center, sits in a distant third place.

And the winners are, in the women’s 500m: Erin Jackson (USA, silver), Femke Kok (Netherlands, gold), Kurumi Inagawa (Japan, bronze). © ISU

‘Quality over quantity’

Before the women took on the 1500m, Femke Kok (NED) had already made her mark in the 500m. Skating her second World Cup race of the season after last week’s gold in Calgary, the 24-year-old world 500m champion started in the first pairing and just like she had done in Canada, set the bar too high for the rest of the field, stopping the clock at 37.11s.

Erin Jackson (USA) came closest with 37.39s in second place, while Kurumi Inagawa (JPN) took bronze in 37.54s.

Femke Kok of the Netherlands wins the women’s 500m at the ISU World Cup in Milwaukee, USA. © ISU

After having been out with a viral infection during the first half of the season, Kok didn’t seem to have any difficulties getting back at the highest level.

“I think I laid a solid foundation in the summer,” she said. “And in the spell that I wasn’t able to skate, I have visualized a lot of skating in my head, that was my way of maintaining the technique.

“Once I got back on the ice, I went for quality over quantity. I didn’t have much time to train before I had to race again, so every training I did had to be high quality technically. I think that’s what got me back so fast.”

Jackson, for her part, had been struggling with a bad back that also hampered her in Calgary. Nonetheless, she was happy with her result because the worst seems to be over.

Erin Jackson of the United States, who took silver in the women's 500m, has been dealing with a back injury. © ISU

“The race was great. I came off the line a little bit easier, not to aggravate the back injury, but during the race, I had no issues,” Jackson said. “After the race, I had a little bit of pain, a little muscle spasms. But then after a few minutes and just relaxing, it's feeling good again.”

Inagawa celebrated her career second individual World Cup medal, after winning her first when she took bronze in Calgary last week.

“It was a good race, but not perfect,” she said. “My pair-mate [Kaja Ziomek-Nogal, POL], started faster and I rushed a little to keep up, then I didn’t enter the corner the way I should have, but the result is good.”

The 25-year-old Japanese sprinter had been training for about a month and a half with Jordan Stolz (USA) last summer, which gave her a new perspective on the sport.

Kurumi Inagawa of Japan, who took bronze, says she learned a lot training with top USA men's skater Jordan Stolz. © ISU

“[I learned] a lot. I thought that he would do things more special and unique, but he just keeps it very simple,” she said. “That’s the most important thing I learned. I was thinking too much about training, technique, the mind. He showed me to keep it simple.”

Inagawa’s compatriot Yukino Yoshida (JPN) retained the lead in the 500m World Cup ranking, after finishing ninth in Milwaukee. Andzelika Wójcik (POL) sits in second, while Jackson climbed to third place.

Milwaukee program

The Milwaukee World Cup concludes with the Team Pursuit, the second 500m and the Mass Start for both genders on Sunday.

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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