Martina Sábliková (CZE)
The ISU European Speed Skating Championships concluded on Sunday, in the northern Italian town of Collalbo after a fast three days of racing. Martina Sábliková (CZE) and Sven Kramer (NED) are the 2007 European Champions.
Ladies
Coming into the tournament Ireen Wüst (NED) was expected to be a strong contender for the European title. Defending champion Claudia Pechstein (GER) was also in the running. When the competition kicked off on Friday the Ladies skated the 500m. Ireen Wüst started strong and took first place with 39.91. The young Russians Yekaterina Abramova and Yekaterina Lobysheva were also powerful on the 500m with 39.91 and 40.15 and took second and third place. Pechstein’s 40.28 was good for fourth.
Wüst went on to also win the 1500m. She improved the fastest outdoor time ever skated. Friesinger had once skated 1:57.21 in Inzell, however this week-end Wüst clocked in a fast 1:56.78 which was also a second faster than the second place finisher, Abramova (1:57.98). Third was Daniela Anschütz-Thoms from Germany with 1:58.08.
On the 3000m however Martina Sábliková, (CZE) renowned for her long distances, showed she was in excellent shape. Up until that point she had finished 9th in the 500m and 6th in the 1500m, but on the 3000m Sábliková beat Renate Groenewold (NED) in the last lap of the tenth pair. Her time was 4:03.52, Groenewold’s 4:04.24. When Wüst skated in the final pair, she started fast, but her laptimes suddenly dropped after 1800m and she took third place. Martina Sábliková moved into second place in the overall ranking, with only the 5000m to go but with a 14 second lag. The Czech coach Petr Novak was happy with the good result of his skater. “14 second is very hard. But Martina will try. If you can skate 4:03 on an outdoor rink, as fast as no-one ever skated outdoors before, you can also skate under 7 minutes, although that hasn’t been done before either.”
The 5000 m of the ladies was high drama. Sábliková skated in the pair before last, and was too strong for pair companion Groenewold. She managed to keep the laptimes pretty even, many 32 and 33 laps, finishing with a 32.8 lap to a new Championships record and a time previously considered impossible on an outdoor track: 6:58.45. Over ten seconds later, Groenewold crossed the line at 7:08.76. Second on the distance, enough in the end for bronze overall. Wüst said afterwards that she was impressed but not worried by the time of Sábliková. “I thought that 7:10 would not be a problem for me, I knew I had to stay below 7:12.5.” She started fast, too fast, some thought. She was on the schedule to take the title until halfway. But then her lap times went up from 33 to 34.1, to 35.0, 35.7, 36.2, 36.9… and she squeezed out a 36.1 end lap only just missing the European title. For the first time in history, Gold medal went to the Czech Republic.
“I don’t know what I could have done differently”, Wüst said later. “I can only say I did my best. My time of 7:12 was in line with the other times. There was just one exceptional time, I can only bow deep to her.”
Sábliková told the press. “The fans were good, the weather was good, the ice was good… everything was good!”.
Men
Defending champion Enrico Fabris (ITA) competing on home ice and Sven Kramer from the Netherlands were expected to provide a battle for the title. Kramer had shown a slight preference for the longer distances, but this year also proved that his 500m had improved. Fabris had been Olympic champion in the 1500m, and this season had won a 10,000m World Cup. Norwegian, other Dutch and Russian skaters were also contenders.
From left to right Enrico Fabris (ITA) and Sven Kramer (NED). Photo AFP/Getty Images
The first day provided excitement. Enrico Fabris posted 36.38 seconds on the 500m, and won. Although Ivan Skobrev from Russia came close, just 0.01 second short of that time. Third was last year’s winner of the 500m, Konrad Niedzwiedzki from Poland. Sven Kramer finished fifth in 36.76. This meant Kramer had to win 3.8 seconds on Fabris in the 5000m to get even with him. Fabris, had to skate first. His pair mate Carl Verheijen was a team mate of Kramer and skated strategically for his team, aiming for a good passing time after 3000m. He told the press that he himself would attempt to finish third overall. “Although, who knows what strange things may happen, if the weather would change…”. Fabris however said that he was pleased he had just skated his own pace. “With a good 1500 tomorrow I can be leading after three distances, and although Sven is usually stronger in the 10,000, I can skate a good long distance too.”
On Saturday, it was 1500m-day, the key-race. With the best possible weather conditions, and the determination of the participants, it became a historic event. First the track record tumbled. It had previously been held by Fabris with 1:48.96. Jarmo Valtonen (FIN) was the first to take it down to 1:47.94. In the next pair, Stefan Heythausen (GER) improved it to 1:47.28, the best time ever skated in the open air (that had been 1:47.86 by Tuitert). In the next pair, Konrad Niedzwiedzki improved that time as well as the championships record, which had been 1:47.23 set in Hamar, 2000, by Ådne Søndrål. Niedzwiedzki’s 1:46.96 was greatly applauded. But it didn’t end there. By the time the final pair started, with Kramer and Fabris head to head, the fastest time was by Mark Tuitert from the Netherlands, 1:46.19. Usually Fabris starts slowly and finishes with a fast lap, but this time he went out fast. 23.92 with Kramer not far behind him in 24.07. They both followed by a 26.2 lap (passing times 50.12 for Fabris and 50.36 for Kramer), and a 26.8 lap (passing times 1:17.00 resp. 1:17.22). Kramer gave his utmost in the final lap to see if he could win the race, but though his laptime was 27.6 against 27.7 for Fabris, he didn’t accomplish that. The final, winning time for Fabris was 1:44.72, the fastest time ever skated in Europe, faster than the track records of Heerenveen, Berlin or Hamar. A time considered especially exceptional as it was set on an open air track. Sven Kramer had stayed unexpectedly close, with a personal best of 1:44.86 taking 2 seconds off his former mark, therewith moving up the ranking in the all times best list to third place behind Americans Davis and Hedrick. It was Fabris who won the 1500m, but it was Sven Kramer who now had the title in his sights.
The 10,000m afterwards confirmed that Sven Kramer was the strongest on the long distances, and therefore in the overall ranking. He won in 13:10.44, again the fastest time ever skated outdoors. The old mark was 13:25 by Bob de Jong. It was Fabris who first managed to break that mark, with 13:21.51, but he had to settle for third on the distance while Carl Verheijen, paired with Kramer, accomplished 13:15.37.
The points total of Kramer was a championships record and naturally the best big combination ever skated on an outdoor rink.
Full Results
