Kaja Ziomek-Nogal (POL) added individual 500m gold to Friday's European Team Sprint title in Tomaszów Mazowiecki on Saturday. Defying the pressure of being the favorite on home ice with the help of a psychologist, the 28-year-old sprinter left compatriot Andzelika Wójcik behind in a Polish 1-2 on the podium. Isabel Grevelt (NED) made amends for yesterday's crash in the team sprint with bronze in the shortest distance.

Ragne Wiklund (NOR) concluded Saturday's action by adding the 1500m title to Friday's 3000m gold. Nikola Zdráhalova (CZE) and Chloé Hoogendoorn (NED) took their first medals at an international championships with silver and bronze respectively.

Ziomek-Nogal keeps her focus to claim gold

The women's 500m came down to the final pairing, when home favorites Andzelika Wójcik and Kaja Ziomek-Nogal crossed swords, with Wójcik starting from the inner lane and Ziomek-Nogal from the outer. 

Grevelt had set the fastest time thus far, clocking 38.37s in the fifth of eight pairings.

Ziomek-Nogal was the only skater to stop the clock under 38 seconds with a time of 37.79s. Wójcik finished in 38.27s.

Home favorite Kaja Ziomek-Nogal (POL) celebrates victory - and her first individual international title - in the 500m  © ISU 

Being able to take her first individual international title in front of friends and family was a relief for Ziomek-Nogal. Handling the expectations had not been easy.

"My psychologist came here today and I was speaking with him one hour before my race," she revealed.

"He said to me: you know what to do, don’t focus on what's happening in the stands.

"This was the first time at a race I was focused totally on myself. I hardly waved at my family. I told myself: OK, I'll say hi to them later."

The focus paid off.

"The race was quite good, but usually my opener is my best part of race and today, I had a really good finish,” Ziomek-Nogal added.

Skating against her team-mate hadn't made it easier.

"I'm always more nervous when I have to start against someone from Poland, and Andzelika and me, we raced against each other at the Polish championships at the start of this season and I crashed, so today is a bit of revenge. And it was great to be on the podium together today."

Wójcik had mixed feelings about the events of the day. "A lot of good skaters are not here today, like Femke Kok (NED). It's good for them to choose and prepare for the Olympics, but I'm glad I'm here. This is close to Warsaw [where she lives], so I hope I can do everything here to prepare for the Olympics.

"It's a pity that [Femke] Kok is not here, because she's such a great skater. I love to watch her skate. She set the new World Record and that's my dream too." 

Ziomek-Nogal's Poland teammate Andzelika Wójcik (left) took 500m silver and Isabel Grevelt (NED, right) the bronze © ISU 

Since finishing second in last season's 500m World Cup ranking, Wójcik has faced many setbacks. 

"Too many injuries and other stuff also mental stuff that happened,” she explained.

“I was a top skater in the World Cup and you can lose it all in the Olympic season. That just put me in a place where I started to wonder if everything was worth it."

All these setbacks made Wójcik adjust her goals. "I look out for our [Polish] team and I'll cheer for any one of our team who's got a chance for the Olympic podium. My own ambition is first and foremost to enjoy the Olympic Games."

Grevelt was happy to take bronze after crashing out of Friday's Team Sprint event. 

"I'm proud that I managed to regroup," said the Dutch skater.

"A phone call from my mother really helped me get over [the crash]. I could share my anger and frustration and she understood. She didn't wave it away like many others, who said: it just happens and on we go. My mother shared my feelings, and I just needed that confirmation."

Wiklund fights back to take second gold

After Friday's 3000m gold, Ragne Wiklund (NOR) went into the 1500m as a favorite too. Facing Nikola Zdráhalova (CZE) in the sixth of eight pairings, she had a tough nut to crack, however.

The 29-year-old Czech skater exploded from the start, taking a 0.63s lead after the opener. Wiklund struggled, but managed to fight back end eventually take a small lead going into the final lap.

With a time of 1:56.24, the Norwegian finished only 0.24s short of the track record set by Miho Takagi (JPN) in 2021.

Ragne Wiklund (NOR) won her second gold in as many days, adding the 1500m to Friday's 3000m European title © ISU 

"Gold was my goal today, but when I looked at my opponent, she was maybe the strongest of the other competitors, and we had a really good fight,” Wiklund said.

"I felt I was a bit tired from yesterday, so I was struggling a bit more to get up to speed, and she opened really fast. 

“I guess that stressed me out a bit more than it should have. I had a lot of mistakes in the corners, so I didn't feel very safe to just sit down and push, but I knew during the second lap, that I felt good physically. I just needed to get a lot of that energy into the ice, which was what I struggled with the most."

Zdráhalova finished only 0.29s short Wiklund, but she was happy to take her career first international medal. 

"It's incredible. It's my first medal in my senior career, and I have to say thank you to Wiklund, because if I hadn't skated with her, I probably wouldn't have taken the silver medal. She helped me a lot during the race."

"Before the race, we knew that I had to start very quickly, because it's only my one chance when I compete with Wiklund, who will be faster in the second part of the race."

Both Nikola Zdráhalova (CZE, left) and Chloé Hoogendoorn (NED, right) won their first international medals in the 1500m © ISU 

Chloé Hoogendoorn (NED), who was making her debut at a senior international championships, ended up with the bronze after having skated 1:57.64 in the second pairing. 

"I'm over the moon," the 21-year-old Dutchwoman said. "I really hadn't expected this. Actually the 1000m is a bit more my distance.

"Last year, I went into the 1500m very fast, but I wasn't able to maintain that pace and now I did manage and then you see how much you can benefit from a fast start."