#SpeedSkating

Femke Kok (NED) shaved another .09s off the track record she set in the 500m on Saturday to win her second gold medal of the ISU World Cup weekend in Milwaukee on Sunday. Before Kok took the ice, Joy Beune, Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong and Marijke Groenewoud (pictured above) won the women’s Team Pursuit. Groenewoud then continued on to seize the Mass Start gold, while Angel Daleman and Wesly Dijs topped the day off with gold in the Mixed Gender relay.

Kok steps it up again

Due to her low ranking in the World Cup, Femke Kok (NED) started in the first pairing of the 500m on Saturday. Come Sunday, she started in the third pairing, and this time set the bar at 37.02s.

Erin Jackson (USA) skated 37.45s to take silver and Andzelika Wójcik (POL) stopped the clock at 37.47s to claim the bronze medal.

Femke Kok of the Netherlands skates to her second gold medal of the weekend at the ISU World Cup in Milwaukee, USA. © ISU

Kok has won all three World Cup races after missing the first half of the season with a viral infection.

“Just outside a sub-37 race, which was a secret goal actually. That’s a pity, but I’m really glad with my full lap [in 26.56s], I think it’s the fastest I ever skated at a sea-level track,” she said of her standout weekend performance.

“It’s also good to see that the gap with the rest of the field is much bigger than yesterday.”

After having come down with the infection, Kok is fighting her way up in the classification.

“After having missed four [500m World Cup] races, I don’t really look at the ranking, but it’s nice to climb up on the list because the higher up in the ranking I am, the better pairings I’ll get.”

Sunday’s 500m podium for women: Erin Jackson (USA, silver), Femke Kok (Netherlands, gold), Andżelika Wójcik (Poland, bronze). © ISU

Third-ranked Jackson had a better pairing, skating against Dione Voskamp (NED) in the final heat, but Jackson had different troubles to cope with at the Milwaukee World Cup.

The Olympic champion is struggling with a back injury, which already hampered her at the Calgary World Cup last week.

“[My back] has seen better days,” Jackson said. “But it has also seen worse days.”

Not to stress her back too much, Jackson had eased up a little at the start of her Milwaukee races.

“That could be a blessing in disguise,” she said. “I’m learning a different way of skating. It could be a bit more efficient.”

Andżelika Wójcik of Poland, who finished third on Sunday in the 500m, has moved into first place in the overall World Cup ranking. © ISU

Wójcik also had her fair share of physical ailments, nursing ongoing intestinal issues.

“It’s better now than it was a month ago. I’m rebuilding myself and getting stronger, so I’m really glad.”

The 28-year-old Polish sprinter took over the lead in the World Cup ranking from Yukino Yoshida (JPN), who finished fourth on Sunday, and will start her home race in Tomaszów Mazowiecki on 21-23 February at the top of the ranking.

Dynamic Dutch in a league of their own

Joy Beune, Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong and Marijke Groenewoud (NED) were in a league of their own in the Team Pursuit. The Dutch outfit finished in a time of two minutes and 54.27s, keeping Japan’s Miho Takagi, Momoka Horikawa and Ayano Sato (JPN) 1.55s behind.

Dutch gold medallists Marijke Groenewoud, Joy Beune, Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong (left to right) are ‘model Wisconsin cheeseheads’ after Sunday’s race. © ISU

“Very stable,” Beune said. “That’s what we also heard from our coaches. We even skated under national record pace at the beginning. We couldn’t keep that up until the end, but that’s no surprise as we are at a sea-level track.”

Rijpma-De Jong, who skated in second position behind Beune, agreed. “We skated well, following each other’s strokes,” she said. “That’s a solid foundation towards the World Championships [in March in Hamar, Norway].”

Despite coming second, Takagi drew confidence from Sunday’s race.

“It’s getting better. This was better than last time in Nagano. There’s still a big gap with the Netherlands.”

Japan’s Miho Takagi, Momoka Horikawa, Ayano Sato finish second in women’s Team Pursuit at ISU World Cup in Milwaukee, USA. © ISU

The Japanese women had been experimenting with their strategy.

“Today, we did something which we wanted, and we can feel what the next step must be. That’s positive for us,” said Takagi.

Skating on home ice, Brittany Bowe, Mia Manganello Kilburg and Greta Myers (USA) seized the bronze medal in 2:57.02.

Bronze medalists Brittany Bowe, Mia Manganello and Greta Myers (left to right) of USA look delighted on the medals podium. © ISU

The 20-year-old Myers, who won her first individual World Cup medal in the Mass Start last week in Calgary, was happy to join her more experienced teammates on the podium.

“It’s pretty awesome. I looked up to Brittany for a really long time,” said Myers.

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to skate with such amazing ladies, and for all the support from everybody in the crowd.”

Groenewoud shines on final day

Groenewoud seized her third gold in four Mass Start races this World Cup season. After an entertaining race in which she had to chase down a breakaway herself, the Dutchwoman attacked 600m before the finish line.

In a chaotic situation behind Groenewoud’s back, Canadians Ivanie Blondin and Valérie Maltais crashed. American Manganello Kilburg and Francesca Lollobrigida (ITA) chased Groenewoud, but couldn’t catch up. Lollobrigida pipped Manganello-Kilburg to the line to take silver, with the American seizing bronze.

The Netherlands’ Marijke Groenewoud finished the weekend on a high note with a gold-medal skate in the women’s Mass Start. © ISU

Groenewoud had finished a disappointing fifth and 10th place in the 3000m and the 1500m, respectively, but she ended the Milwaukee weekend on a high note.

“The final day makes up for the rest as always,” she said. “I was a little ill last week, after two flights from [a training camp in] Tenerife to Calgary. So I was not really up to the level to race for medals in the classical distances. But I’m getting better every day.”

Dutch make amends in Mixed Gender Relay

The jam-packed Sunday program at the Pettit National Skating Center concluded with the second Mixed Gender Relay race of the World Cup season.

Angel Daleman and Wesly Dijs (NED) took home gold, making amends for messing up a change-up to get disqualified at the first race in Nagano last November.

Julie Nistad Samsonsen and Bjørn Magnussen (NOR) took silver, while Blondin and David La Rue (CAN) grabbed bronze.

“This is a bit of revenge for last time [in Nagano],” Dijs said. “I just had some sort of a blackout then. This time we didn’t train for it and it went well.”

Dutch tactics worked out well, as Daleman and Dijs used Italians Serena Pergher and Riccardo Lorello (ITA) to set the pace in the first half of the race.

The Mixed Relay, only on the World Cup program since last year, has proven very popular – with a few tweaks suggested by athletes. © ISU

“It’s a bit of bluff behind those Italians,” Dijs said. “If you pace it wrong, you’re helping others to the podium. Now we used the others to our own benefit.”

Both Daleman and Dijs said that the new event, which has been on the World Cup program since last year, could have a bright future.

“Yes, maybe in a bit of a different set-up,” Dijs said. “The change-ups should be a little safer, maybe you should be allowed to change-up over the full 100m straight [instead of 50m]. That would give you more space, also to play it more tactically.

“And maybe we should do it with four skaters instead of two. Then you’ll get more speed and it will be even more spectacular.”

World Cup resumes in Poland

With the first four ISU World Cup events in the books, the series resumes with the fifth leg in Tomaszów Mazowiecki on February 21-23. In Poland the Team Sprint competition comes to a conclusion, while all other distances will finish at the last World Cup event from 28 February to 2 March in Heerenveen, the Netherlands.

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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