#SpeedSkating

Motherhood has made Kaja Ziomek-Nogal (POL) stronger. After a two-year absence from the ice in which the 27-year-old Polish sprinter gave birth to daughter Antonina, she returned with her career first individual ISU World Cup win in the second 500m in Beijing. Marijke Groenewoud (NED) managed to keep ahead of the chaos behind her to take back-to-back Mass Start gold, and the Netherlands won the Team Sprint event, with Suzanne Schulting and Angel Daleman taking their career-first long-track World Cup golds.

Ziomek bounds back to A Division with gold

Kaja Ziomek-Nogal (POL) did not choose the easy route back to the ISU World Cup podium, but despite a hiccup in last week's World Cup in Nagano she has reached her 

“I had planned after the [2022] Olympic Games, that I would get pregnant, and it went to plan. So I was out for two seasons and now I’m back,” said the Polish sprinter. 

A determined Kaja Ziomek-Nogal (POL) set an early fast time in the 500m to win her first individual World Cup gold after taking two years off to start a family © ISU

During the second 500m at the Nagano World Cup last week, Ziomek-Nogal was served a disqualification for cutting the inner line in the curve, which saw her relegated to the B Division for the first 500m in Beijing. 

“[The disqualification] was so sad for me,” Ziomek-Nogal commented. 

“I wasn't angry, but it was sad. On Friday [in the first 500m in Beijing] I needed to do everything to be in Division A again. but I did not have enough points to stay in Division A, so my coach said: you need to win.”

And that’s exactly what Ziomek-Nogal did. Skating in the second of 10 pairings, she stopped the clock after 37.82s, a time that none of the subsequent 16 skaters was able to match.

“Watching the others race was even more stressful for me than racing myself,” Ziomek said. 

“My legs were shaking and I couldn’t believe I was coming back after such a long time with a gold medal.”

Becoming a mother has change the perspective of the Lubin native. 

“I know I have new priorities in my life now, so maybe it makes me stronger,” she said.

“The hardest part of being here is not being able to be with my daughter. The whole summer, she was with me on all the training camps, but taking her to Japan and China was too long a trip.”

Only two other skaters were able to break the 38-second barrier on Sunday. Short-track star Suzanne Schulting (NED) won her first World Cup medal in long track, finishing in 37.88s to take silver. 

Suzanne Schulting (NED), left, added long-track silver to her extensive short-track palmares, Andzelika Wójcik, right, joining Polish compatriot Ziomek-Nogal on the podium © ISU

Having only started her long-track adventure this season, the double Olympic short-track champion still sees a lot of room for improvement.

 “[To win the first long track medal] is super nice. I'm just focusing to skate every race better, and it's working so far.

“The 500m is a really short distance, so you cannot expect to skate three tenths faster all of a sudden. But I think I still can get a lot better. The speed is really coming, but I miss the stamina for the last lap in the 1000m. I feel like I can still grow a lot throughout this season.”

Andzelika Wójcik (POL) skated 37.89s to take bronze and join compatriot Ziomek-Nogal on the podium. 

“There’s a lot of Polish power in the sprint. I believe that together with Kaja [Ziomnek-Nogal] can we can spark each other to get to the podium,” Wójcik vowed.

After already having won silver in Nagano, Wójcik climbed to second place in the 500m World Cup ranking, 27 points behind Yukino Yoshida (JPN), who won Friday’s first 500m in Beijing but who had to settle for fifth place in the second. 

Olympic champion Erin Jackson (USA) sits in third after coming in sixth and fourth in Beijing.  

Groenewoud stays ahead in stormy Mass Start

“Jeez, I’ve never seen such a horrible Mass Start,” Marijke Groenewoud (NED) said after she came off the ice with another gold medal around her neck.

The Dutch heir to Olympic champion Irene Schouten (NED) kept the pack at bay, skating away with a powerful last lap to finish about 10m ahead of Ivanie Blondin (CAN).

The Canadian was disqualified, however, together with Francesca Lollobrigida (ITA), who had crossed the line in fourth position.

Marijke Groenewoud (NED) avoided the pushing and shoving of the Mass Start to win World Cup gold in the event for the second week in a row © ISU

“So many things happened,” Groenewoud said. “I was kicked and pulled. I don’t want to fight, and I didn’t, but it was complete chaos.

“I think it’s good that they handed out a couple of disqualifications, although I don’t know if those were the right people to disqualify because it all happened behind my back.

“Lollobrigida had a broken skate and another girl had a cut in her boot too. It just wasn’t normal. You skate with your legs and not with your arms.”

After Blondin’s disqualification, Valérie Maltais (CAN) moved up from third to second place while Yang Binyu (CHN) was promoted to third place thanks to Lollobrigida being scrapped from the results list. 

Valerie Maltais (CAN), left, and Yang Binyu (CHN), right, both benefited from disqualifications to win silver and bronze after a chaotic race © ISU

The race had been eventful, with many jumps and counter-attacks, and Maltais had enjoyed that part of it. 

“If you forget all the pushing and grabbing, I don't even know everything that happened, it was fun. It was a different race, with quite a lot of attacks,” said the Canadian.

“I had to ask myself: where do I go, where do I rest? I think that's what is fun in the Mass Start.

“But then I think it was a little bit too much chaos. We need to make it fair."

With two wins, Groenewoud confidently stays on top of the Word Cup ranking, with teammate Elisa Dul (NED) in second place and Maltais in third.

Netherlands win Team Sprint

To conclude women’s competition in Beijing, Schulting, Michelle de Jong and Angel Daleman (NED) beat the Polish powerhouse in the first Team Sprint race of this World Cup season. The Dutch women stopped the clock in 1 minute and 26.35s. After picking up two individual bronze medals earlier this weekend, the victory marks junior prodigy Daleman’s first senior ISU World Cup title.

The Dutch trio of (front to back) Michelle de Jong, Suzanne Schulting and Angel Daleman combined to win the first Team Sprint title of this World Cup season © ISU

Wójcik, Ziomek-Nogal and Karolina Bosiek (POL) came 0.72 short to take silver, while USA (Jackson, Kimi Goetz and Brittany Bowe) finished just 0.01s short of Poland to take bronze.

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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