Team USA were already the benchmark in the men’s Team Pursuit, but on the final day of the ISU World Cup in Salt Lake City they raised the bar even higher. Ethan Cepuran, Emery Lehman and Casey Dawson broke their own 2024 World Record by a margin of 1.17s, skating a time of 3 minutes 32.49s.

In the men’s 500m Jenning de Boo (NED) took revenge after Saturday’s 10th place, beating Jordan Stolz in 33.63s, just 0.02s off the 2019 World Record. 

Jorrit Bergsma (NED) closed off the program with gold in the Mass Start at the same track where he also won the World title in the discipline in 2020.

USA in pursuit of perfection

When World Champions Ethan Cepuran, Emery Lehman and Casey Dawson find their rhythm in the Team Pursuit, they seem like an invincible machine. Skating in the final pairing against Italy, runners-up at last year’s World Championships, the contrast couldn’t have been greater. 

While Team USA was on World Record pace right from the start, Italy had trouble keeping up and a little over halfway through the race, they crashed out.

Finishing in 3:32.49, the USA left Olympic Champions Norway (Peder Kongshaug, Sander Eitrem, Didrik Eng Strand) 2.71s behind in second place. China (Ning Zhongyan, Wu Yu, Hanbin Liu) were third in 3:36.65.

Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman and Ethan Cepuran earned commemorative rings for their Pursuit World Record but their minds are firmly on February's Olympic rings. © ISU

Dawson, Lehman and Cepuran celebrated their feat with the crowd.

“It's awesome,” Dawson said. “I was born and raised in Utah, so having literally my friends from high school and then my parents and everyone is here. Just to set a World Record with these boys in front of a legitimate home crowd is awesome to me personally. And you know, for them [Cepuran and Lehman], it's their home away from home. So it's awesome for them too.”

Cepuran, pushing from the back, explained how the team comes together as one during a the race.

“I'm thinking about what they're doing in front of me, just trying to match them, stay in stride and get through all these laps. When you’re in rhythm, it feels like you're flying, it doesn't feel like three guys out there. It feels like one unit just floating.”

Lehman added: “Especially in a Team Pursuit, when everyone's lining up and going in sync, it makes a big difference.”

Olympic Pursuit Champions Norway, left, came second behind the dominant Americans, China, right, picking up bronze. © ISU

Dawson, Lehman and Cepuran have won everything they can in Team Pursuit, except for the most coveted prize in speed skating: the Olympic title. Their semi-final loss at the 2022 Beijing Games still hurts. 

“We think about that every day,” said Cepuran. “We know we can't take the foot off the gas pedal. It's November right now. The goal is February [the Olympic Games in Milano Cortina].

 Lehman agreed: “We've had some pretty scarring losses in the past, so I think the Olympics, World Championships, World Cups, have been times we've come up short. So we know that we don't take every win for granted.” 

De Boo bounces back in 500m

In the 500m, Jenning de Boo (NED) proved that even Jordan Stolz (USA) can’t take anything for granted. While the Dutchman bounced back from a disappointing 10th on Saturday with a breathtaking first place in 33.63s, Stolz, the winner of three golds earlier in the weekend, had to settle for fourth place.

With seven skaters going under 34 seconds, the competition was even stronger than it had been the day before, when five skaters broke the 34-second barrier.

After finishing 10th in the first 500m, Jenning de Boo (NED) turned it around to come within 0.02s of the World Record in Sunday's second sprint. © ISU

De Boo got as close as 0.02s to the World Record set by Pavel Kulizhnikov (RUS) in 2019. 

“Two hundredths,” the Dutchman smiled. “I’m happy, but maybe tonight, when I look back, I may see little things in my race where I think, that’s where I could have gone just that little faster.

“But after yesterday, I’m stoked. I wanted to improve a couple of things and I managed.”

Although he had already beaten Stolz at last year’s World Championships, De Boo was glad he had done it again under different circumstances. 

“It gives me a lot of confidence. Last year I beat him, but I wanted to do it today, without him being able to say that he’d been ill in the run-up.”

Close behind De Boo, Yevgeniy Koshkin (KAZ) ended up second in 33.67s and Kim Jun-Ho (KOR) took bronze in 33.78s. 

Yevgeniy Koshkin (KAZ, left) and Kim Jun-Ho (KOR, right) joined De Boo on the podium after a race in which seven skaters broke the 37s barrier. © ISU

Stolz, who took fourth place in 33.79s, wasn’t too worried. 

“I think I'm in a good spot right now. [Compared to Saturday] I felt like I skated a better race today. I just didn't have the power in the legs after the other races, but everybody else did really well," the American said.

Bergsma rekindles great memories in Mass Start

Jorrit Bergsma (NED) won the Mass Start, beating his fellow escapees in a six-man breakaway. Felix Maly (GER) finished second and Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu (CAN) took bronze.

The 39-year-old Bergsma relied on his experience and recalled his 2020 World Title at the Utah Olympic Oval when he crossed the finish line.

Jorrit Bergsma (NED) used all his experience to win the Mass Start on the same Salt Lake City ice as he won his World Title in 2020. © ISU

“That’s good memories,” Bergsma smiled.

“It went perfect. It was a tough race and I was able to pick the right moment. In the Mass Start, experience is key.”