#SpeedSkating

Joy Beune (NED) snapped Miho Takagi’s (JPN) seven-race winning streak in the 1500m on the second day of the ISU World Cup in Calgary, Canada on Saturday. In a head-to-head battle, the Dutchwoman pipped the Japanese world champion to the line by a .13s margin in a time of one minute and 51.72s. Takagi had to settle for silver and Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong (NED) kept Angel Daleman (NED) at bay in another close head-to-head fight for bronze. However, there was some consolation for the 17-year-old Daleman in smashing Beune’s 2018 junior world record by almost two seconds in 1:52.38.

Beune puts sprinting legs back on

Miho Takagi (JPN), who hadn’t lost a 1500m race since 17 February 2023 in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland, took on Joy Beune (NED) on the fast Calgary track on Saturday, where she also had won the 1500m title last season.

The Dutch world allround champion, who had come third in that 1500m championships race last year, had won Friday’s 5000m in Calgary, and didn’t seem to feel any fatigue from that long-distance effort the next day.

“I had to screw my sprinting legs back on today”, Beune said. “I decided not to warm up on the ice this morning, so I did a bit of cycling and I thought, those sprinting legs are all right.

“Before my race I got on the ice a little bit earlier than usual to get the feel and the speed was OK, so I was very confident at the start.”

Women’s 1500m medalists Miho Takagi of Japan (silver), Joy Beune of Netherlands (gold) and Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong of Netherlands (bronze). © ISU

Despite Beune’s confidence, Takagi got off the blocks faster, taking a .81s lead at the 300m split. But then Beune got up to speed, knowing she would be able to reel in her rival eventually.

As Beune put it: “My speed came easy, and my weapon is the final lap. She had the last inner corner, so she got a great draft at the final back-stretch.

“I felt that she almost got passed in that last inner corner, and then we had to see who had the best legs in the final 100m.”

Beune kept her composure on that final straight, whereas the struggling Takagi made a couple of technical mistakes.

“Miho did make some little mistakes, I was losing my technique a bit on the last back-stretch, but managed to get my composure back in the final corner and I kept skating instead of struggling in the last 100m,” said Beune.

“Supercool to finally beat her [Takagi]; she’s gone undefeated for so long, so now for me to finish that streak, that’s something I’m very proud of.”

Miho Takagi of Japan (right) tries to fend off Joy Beune of Netherlands in their women’s 1500m race at ISU World Cup in Calgary. © ISU

Takagi had mixed feelings after the race.

“Of course it’s a disappointment [to have the winning streak ended], but I’m also excited because I learned more from this race than from all the races I won before,” she said.

“I skated against such a good opponent, and she is a long-distance specialist so I knew I had to take as much time as I could in the first part of the race.

“My main takeaway from this race is that I have to improve my first full lap up to the 700m split.”

 Another battle to the line

 After the exciting battle between Beune and Takagi, Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong (NED) and Angel Daleman (NED) treated the Calgary crowd to another thrilling head-to-head fight in the penultimate pairing.

“I like skating versus Antoinette, because we’re similar skaters,” Daleman said. “We start at a similar pace, which always makes it an exciting challenge.”

Angel Daleman of Netherlands, who finished fourth in women’s 1500m, set a new junior world record in the distance. © ISU

Daleman was a few hundredths of a second ahead at the 300m, 700m and 1100m splits, only to eventually lose the race by .21s. Breaking her personal best time of 1:55.41 by over three seconds in 1:52.38, however, she did set a new junior world record to end up in fourth place.

“When I crossed the finish line, I thought, ‘Oh, sh*t, I lost [my pairing],’ but then I looked at the scoreboard and saw 1:52 and I thought, ‘OK, it’s all right,’ ” she said.

Finishing third in 1:52.17, Rijpma-De Jong climbed to third place in the 1500m World Cup ranking. She had been experimenting with new blades in the 1000m on Friday, but decided to turn back to the old ones in the 1500m on Saturday.

Bronze medalist Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong of Netherlands in women’s 1500m at ISU World Cup in Calgary. © ISU

“This race was so much better than yesterday,” she said. “I tried new blades because I lacked pressure on my old blades, but those new blades gave me so much pressure, that I lost control.

“Today I got my old blades back under my boots and I immediately felt better. For now, I’m going to stick with the old ones.”

Calgary program

The Calgary World Cup will conclude with the 500m, the Mass Start, and the Team Sprint 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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