SPEED SKATING
Jackson (USA) and Groenewoud (NED) thrive once more on Polish ice at Arena Lodowa
21 Feb 2025
Erin Jackson (USA) and Marijke Groenewoud (NED) thrive on the ice of the Arena Lodowa in Tomaszów Mazowiecki (POL). The American sprinter won her second 500m gold of the ISU World Cup Speed Skating season on Friday night, leaving Suzanne Schulting (NED) and home skater Kaja Ziomek-Nogal (POL) behind in second and third place, while the Dutchwomen beat reigning world champion and World Cup leader Miho Takagi (JPN) in the 1500m.
Jackson back on top
Erin Jackson (USA) won her career first World Cup race in Poland at the start of the 2021/22 season which ended with her winning Olympic 500m gold in Beijing.
Being back at Tomaszów Mazowiecki more than three years later, the experience was different. Jackson wasn’t so sure about her physical condition after a season of highs and lows. Hampered by a chronic back injury, the American had not been able to shine at the World Cups in Calgary and Milwaukee last month, but she was back on track in Poland.
In the 500m, Jackson stopped the clock at 38.08s, to keep Schulting (NED) 0.09s behind, while Ziomek-Nogal (POL) finished third at 0.23s.
Erin Jackson (USA) put an injury-hit season behind her to take gold in the 500m and gain confidence for the World Championships in March. © ISU
Jackson drew a lot of confidence from the race, because she still had doubts about her back injury.
“We've been really conservative, and I haven't been pushing it,” she said. “I was just going to come into the race and see how it would be [after the race], and yeah, it feels good."
The back injury had made Jackson a little more cautious over the first 100m in Milwaukee, which according to herself might have been a blessing in disguise. She had executed the same strategy in Poland, but she’s also working towards the possibility of going flat-out from the start again.
“It's a bit of a question [if starting slower is a blessing in disguise], because there are two possibilities. Either going slower in the opener is better overall for my lap, or I just fixed some things and now they're showing better.
“So maybe if my opener is back to normal, then I could go even faster, but I don't know, until I try my opener like I used to.
“So as I get more comfortable with the back and taking some more risks with it, then I guess we'll see. But I think I'll probably save that for the World Championships [in Hamar, Norway, in March].
Schulting (NED) will not be able to skate at the World Championships, as she failed to qualify at the Dutch Championships in Heerenveen last week. But the Olympic short-track champion was content to be back on the podium at World Cup level.
Suzanne Schulting (NED) will miss the World Championships but was happy to be back on the World Cup podium with 500m silver. © ISU
“I think this was a very good race, and I’m really happy with it. The first straight wasn’t too good and the first turn neither, but overall I’ve seized the opportunity [to take a medal]," she said.
“Of course it’s a bummer [not to be able to skate at the World Championships], but you shouldn’t forget that we have a very strong and competitive field in the Netherlands. You just have to be able to get in that mix and I didn’t manage to, so the only thing I can do now is close off my season as good as I can [in the World Cups]."
Ziomek-Nogal (POL) was very happy to be able to grab a medal on home ice on Friday.
Home skater Kaja Ziomek-Nogal (POL, right) was urged on not only by the Polish crowd but by her mother and daughter who saw her grab bronze. © ISU
“This is the first time when my mom is here with me,” she said. Apart from her mother, Ziomek-Nogal also had her two-year-old daughter with her at the track.
“She’s the lucky person for me, when she's with me. It's always good."
Ziomek-Nogal’s compatriot Andzelika Wójcik (POL) finished fourth and thus managed to stay two points ahead of Jackson on top of the 500m World Cup ranking. Yukino Yoshida (JPN) is ranked third, just six points behind the leader.
Groenewoud prospers in tough conditions
While the 500m World Cup trophy is a very tight three-horse race, Miho Takagi (JPN) could have secured the 1500m Trophy with gold in the fifth of six races here, but the reigning world champion missed the opportunity, ending up in second place, 0.83s behind Marijke Groenewoud (NED), who finished in 1:56.67.
The 26-year-old Dutchwoman, who won three national titles at the Dutch championships in Heerenveen last week, seized her career second World Cup gold in the 1500m. The first time, she had also beaten middle distance queen Takagi.
Three-distance Dutch champion Marijke Groenewoud won her second World Cup gold in the 1500m two years after winning her first in the same venue. © ISU
“I’ve done it before,” Groenewoud smiled “And that was also here [in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, February 2023]. I’ve skated my best World Cups here; when the conditions are tough, I prosper.”
Silver medalist Takagi, who had won the B Division 500m race earlier on Friday, left the Arena Lodowa with a 60-point lead over the second ranked Joy Beune (NED) in the 1500m World Cup ranking.
Beune, who was absent in Poland, thus still has a mathematical chance of pushing Takagi off the top spot at the last World Cup in Heerenveen next week, when the winner will receive another 60 points.
“That’s disappointing,” Takagi said. “Now I do have to skate the 1500m next week. If I would have won today, I would have secured it already.”
Takagi’s Chinese training partner Han Mei (CHN) took bronze in 1:57.56. She had just come back from a successful week at the Asian Games in Harbin, where she won the 1000m, 1500m and Team Pursuit.
Miho Takagi (JPN, left) missed the chance to secure the 1500m trophy with a round to go. She took silver with training partner Han Mei (CHN) taking bronze. © ISU
“I feel good,” Han said. “Much better than before, because I had a cough after the Asian Games, which was just 10 days ago.
“I was looking forward to skating at the World Cup, because the level at the Asian Games was lower, as many of the top skaters from Japan didn’t take part.”
Tomaszów Mazowiecki program
The Tomaszów Mazowiecki ISU World Cup Speed Skating will start with the first of two 500m races and the 1500m for both genders on Friday. Saturday’s program comprises the 3000m for women, the 5000m for men and the 1000m for both genders, while on Sunday both genders will skate the second 500m, and the Mass Start, to conclude with the Team Sprint.
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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