Miho Takagi won gold in the 1000m event on Saturday to claim her first individual title at a World Single Distances Championships @ISU
“Finally,” Miho Takagi (JPN) sighed with a smile. The Japanese superstar had won almost every possible prize in international speed skating, except for an individual World Single Distance title. On Saturday, she finally filled that spot in her trophy cabinet with a gold medal in the 1000m at the ISU World Single Distances Championships. Irene Schouten (NED) collected her third world title in three days, overcoming an early fall in the Mass Start to outsprint rival Ivanie Blondin (CAN) for the win.
Takagi finally takes it
When she slowly glided to the 1000m start line at the Calgary Olympic Oval on Friday, Takagi had already won 12 medals at previous World Single Distances Championships, including three gold medals in Team Pursuit, but she had never won gold in an individual event.
Paired against her Chinese teammate Han Mei (CHN), she skated a well-balanced race with the fastest final lap of the field (28.2 seconds) to finish in 1:12.83.
Takagi was able to take advantage of the draft behind Han in the backstretch before the last inner corner, but it also cost her a bit of rhythm.
“I was also happy to skate with (Han). She did very well and I could follow her at the final backstretch. My skating changed a little because I tried to catch her. I had to adjust my stroke a bit.”
Han, Takagi’s training partner in the international team coached by Johan de Wit (NED), was able to match Takagi’s final lap, but she lacked the opening speed she needed to keep up with the Olympic champion and finished in 1:13.27.
Han Mei took silver in the 1000m event Saturday to earn her first medal at a World Single Distances Championships @ISU
Takagi and Han were first and second on the leaderboard at that moment, but they had to wait for defending champion Jutta Leerdam (NED) to skate in the final pairing.
Leerdam was coming off a lackluster season, in which her technique had been hampered by a stiff ankle. That ankle didn’t seem to bother her, at least in the first 600m of the race. Going into the final lap, Leerdam had a .33-second advantage over Takagi’s split time, but she posted a 29-second final lap to end up third in 1:13.28.
Takagi feared Leerdam’s power when she saw her take off.
“At the 600m split (I was afraid she was going to beat me), but then her speed was going down and before the last corner, I already knew that I had it, because we can see the time differences on the scoreboard.”
Jutta Leerdam wasn't able to hold onto her lead, settling for 1000m bronze on Saturday in Calgary, Canada @ISU
Although she was happy to take her first individual World title, Takagi wasn’t ready to celebrate just yet.
“It’s great, but my goal is the 1500m to get the gold (on Sunday).”
It was also Han’s first medal at a World Single Distances Championships. She called it “super exciting” and said it helped to skate against Takagi.
“I really hope to be paired with Miho. When I got my first 1000m (World Cup) podium (in Salt Lake City three weeks ago), I also skated in the pair with her. Maybe it’s a lucky draw for me.”
Han said she improved a lot this year while training with the Olympic 1000m champion.
“She’s really strong. (I take advantage of) the high quality training. I’ve got a lot of respect for Miho.”
Leerdam was gutted to finish third because she felt she’d finally overcome her ankle troubles. Her first full lap time was the fastest in the field.
“I had such a good start and then I did a 26.3 lap and then I blew it. I heard my lap times, I knew I was ahead. I was so eager, I had so much speed, I didn’t even need to make speed anymore, just go on, but I threw my upper body in the corner and lost composure. I’ve never done that before. It must be lack of confidence after the past weeks and the past season. I just felt that I was so much better than my final time showed.”
Schouten overcomes fall to win Mass Start
After winning gold in Thursday’s 3000m and Friday’s Team Pursuit events, Schouten seemed to blow her chances in Saturday’s Mass Start when she fell early in the final.
“I thought, ‘f***, get up quickly and try to catch up with the pack’. I’ve had this before so I knew it was possible.”
The rest of the pack didn’t increase the pace to take advantage of the title favorite’s fall. Only Laura Lorenzato (ITA) recognized the opportunity, setting up a solo breakaway. Said Schouten:
“Everyone else only looks at the Dutch. If one of us falls, they just don’t know what to do anymore. There’s one skater with an inline background (Lorenzato) who understands the (pack-race) game and she breaks away.”
Irene Schouten celebrates Mass Start gold and her third title of the World Single Distances Championships in Calgary @ISU
Schouten also understood her rivals’ dilemma.
“They are afraid to get tired if they attack and then (Marijke Groenewoud, NED) is still there. That’s my luck. I was able to win the race thanks to Marijke, because if the others attack they still take Marijke to the line for a final sprint.”
When Schouten caught up with the pack, she didn’t initially race for her own chances.
“I thought: all cards on Marijke and directly attacked, but everyone followed. Then Marijke attacked and Blondin followed. That wears Blondin out a little and we know we have to make her a little tired for the sprint.”
Groenewoud explained.
“When I got away with Blondin, she said, ‘if you want to win, you have to work’, and I told her the same thing. But she didn’t work and I’m not going to skate up front to take her to the line.”
Meanwhile, Lorenzato was still about 100 meters ahead of the pack. But the audacious Italian eventually paid the price for skating so many laps on her own, getting caught on the final lap.
Groenewoud led out the sprint, but Schouten was just a little faster on the finishing straight. Blondin was also able to pass Groenewoud on the inside.
Marijke Groenewoud took bronze after she was passed on the final sprint of the Mass Start on Saturday in Calgary @ISU
It was a tough finish for Blondin.
“It was pretty chaotic, but at the same time I think it was a really exciting race for everyone, including myself. There was a lot going on and I had to close a lot of gaps and in the end that takes a little bit away from my sprint legs.”
Despite taking silver, Blondin was also a little frustrated.
“I’m a little bit frustrated that no calls are being made because Val (teammate Valérie Maltais, CAN) was taken out by Irene (Schouten). If the tables were turned — and they have been turned in the past — I've come away disqualified very often. If they're going to disqualify me many times for just touching anyone and my teammate gets taken out for the final sprint that way … but at the end of the day, Schouten did a very good race. She fell and she came back, the pace of the pack at that point just wasn't high enough.”
Ivanie Blondin (center) took silver in what she described as a 'chaotic' Mass Start race in Calgary @ISU
Maltais also said Schouten caused her to crash out of the race.
“Irene took me out and I fell on my bum, but it was not on camera.”
Schouten said she hadn’t noticed Maltais’ fall.
“Really? I’d like to see that on camera. I really don’t know. The only incident I noticed after I got back in the pack was that I nearly crashed again because of a move by Blondin.”
Program
Thursday 15 February:
3000m Women
5000m Men
Team Sprint Women
Team Sprint Men
Friday 16 February:
Team Pursuit Women
Team Pursuit Men
500m Women
500m Men
Saturday 17 February
1000m Women
1000m Men
Mass Start Women Final
Mass Start Men Final
Sunday 18 February
5000m Women
10000m Men
1500m Women
1500m Men
