Ronald Mulder (NED) took gold in the men’s 500m in 34.62 seconds to beat an extremely competitive field on Saturday. The first 16 skaters finished within 0.36 seconds of the winner.
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Daichi Yamanaka (JPN) grabbed a surprising silver medal in 34.65s, while Friday’s silver medalist, Hein Otterspeer (NED), finished in 34.76s to add a bronze medal to his honors.
For Mulder it was his fifth World Cup win in the 500m, his previous victory dating back to the 2015/16 season, when he took gold in Heerenveen.
“I have not won very often, so this feels very good,” Mulder said.
Mulder took advantage of the draw, which put him in the penultimate pair versus his compatriot, Otterspeer.
“That was good,” Mulder said. “He skated very good yesterday and his in form. My opener was better today. On the back stretch, I could draft behind Hein and the final corner was good. It was a solid race.”
The 31-year-old was surprised to see his younger rival from Japan, 27-year-old Yamanaka, take the silver medal .
“No disrespect, but I had never heard of him before this weekend, but this gives Japanese Speed Skating a boost. They have a couple of very good skaters, you already could see that coming last season.
“It shows how competitive the 500m is. This man [Yamanaka] is also a candidate for Olympic gold.”
Håvard Holmefjord Lorentzen (NOR), who had won Friday’s 500m and 1000m, finished in sixth place in 34.79s on Saturday.
Full results and classifications here.
