Calgary, Canada

 #SpeedSkating

Who is in shape, who is not, and who is hiding? The fifth leg in this season's ISU World Cup Speed Skating this weekend at the Olympic Oval in Calgary is last test for the ISU World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships next week in Salt Lake City. Kjeld NuisThomas Krol and Patrick Roest (NED) all qualified to skate the men's 1500m in Calgary, but decided to skip that distance to save energy. Other skaters will use the ISU World Cup Speed Skating to regain rhythm after a couple of weeks without competition.

Men's 500m: Kulizhnikov's challengers

Racing starts on Friday with the fast and the furious. Viktor Mushtakov (RUS) will defend his top position in the men's 500m ranking, with both Tatsuya Shinhama (JPN) and Jun-Ho Kim (KOR) trailing by 37 points. Pavel Kulizhnikov (RUS) is only ranked 21st, but the Russian world record holder had to skip the first three World Cups due to injury troubles. At the ISU European Speed Skating Championships in Heerenveen in January, Kulizhnikov showed that he is still the man to beat in the 500m.

With Mushtakov, Shinhama, Kim but also Tingyu Gao (CHN), Dai Dai Ntab (NED), Olympic Champion Håvard Lorentzen (NOR) and Canadian aces Alex Boisvert-Lacroix and Laurent Dubreuil (CAN) there are more than enough sprinters able to challenge Kulizhnikov.

ISU World Cup Speed Skating Standings 500m Men

Ladies' 1000m: Bowe in league of her own

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Brittany Bowe (USA) at the ISU World Cup Speed Skating (KAZ) 2019©International Skating Union (ISU)

The ladies' tournament in the Calgary starts with the 1000m. Brittany Bowe (USA) has won all three previous ISU World Cup Speed Skating races in that distance this season, but the reigning ISU World Speed Skating Champion and world record holder would be happy to trade all these medals for the one that really counts next week on home ice in Salt Lake City.

ISU World Cup Speed Skating Standings 1000m Ladies

Men's 1500m: Open field

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Ning Zhongyan (CHN) at the ISU World Cup Speed Skating (CHN) 2019©International Skating Union (ISU)

Without Nuis, Krol and Roest skipping the race in Calgary, the men's 1500m lacks the numbers one, two and four in the ISU World Cup Speed Skating ranking. China's Ning Zhongyan, who is ranked third, could take over the top position in the rankings if he wins, but fifth-ranked Min-Seok Kim (KOR) could do the same and the Olympic bronze medalist showed form last week, when he won the inaugural ISU Four Continents Speed Skating Championships 1500m title.

ISU World Cup Speed Skating Standings 1500m Men

Ladies' 3000m: Sáblíková looking for records again?

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Martina Sáblíková (CZE) at the ISU European Speed Skating Championships 2020©International Skating Union (ISU)

Martina Sáblíková (CZE) used to be in a league of her own in the long distances, but Ivanie Blondin (CAN) beat her twice at the last two ISU World Cup Speed Skating events and fellow-Canadian Isabelle Weidemann won this season's first ISU World Cup Speed Skating 3000m. Last season it also took Sáblíková a while to get in shape, but once the major championships came, she was back with a vengeance, breaking the 13-year-old 3000m world record at the ISU World Allround Speed Skating Championships in Calgary and bettering her own record a week later at the ISU World Cup Speed Skating Final in Salt Lake City already.

ISU World Cup Speed Skating Standings 3000m Ladies

Ladies' 500: Kodaira versus Russian troika

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Nao Kodaira (JPN) at the ISU World Cup Speed Skating (JPN) 2019©International Skating Union (ISU)

Sunday's action kicks off with the fastest ladies' on the ice. Nao Kodaira (JPN) defends her lead in the 500m against a Russian troika of Angelina Golikova (RUS), Daria Kachanova (RUS) and Olga Fatkulina (RUS). Brittany Bowe sits in fifth place, while reigning ISU World Speed Skating Champion Vanesse Herzog (AUT) in sixth place is looking to make amends for a disappointing season so far.

ISU World Cup Speed Skating Standings 500m Ladies

Men's 1000m: Krol in pole position

Thomas Krol NED ESSC 2020 International Skating Union ISU

Thomas Krol (NED) at the ISU European Speed Skating Championships 2020©International Skating Union (ISU)

The men's 1000m is an interesting battle between explosive 500m specialists and middle-distance skaters who are able to hold on to their pace over 1500m. Thomas Krol (NED) won the first two ISU World Cup Speed Skating races this season, with world record holder Kjeld Nuis (NED) coming third and second. In absence of Nuis and Krol world champion Kai Verbij (NED) seized gold in the third ISU World Cup Speed Skating race in Nagano, but both Krol and Verbij did not stand a chance when Pavel Kulizhnikov unleashed his powers with a track record of 1:07.09 at the ISU European Speed Skating Championships in Heerenveen in January. The Russian beat Krol by a 0.72 second-margin and Verbij was 1.28 slower to come third.

Nuis, who had been ill at the Dutch trials, did not compete in Heerenveen. The world record holder was given priority in the selection for the fifth ISU World Cup Speed Skating and the ISU World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships, however. Apart from Nuis, Ning Zhongyan is another contender in Calgary. Just like in the 1500m, the Chinese youngster is ranked third in the ISU World Cup Speed Skating.

ISU World Cup Speed Skating Standings 1000m Men

1500m ladies: Olympic, World and European Champion Wüst

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Ireen Wüst (NED) at the ISU World Cup Speed Skating (KAZ) 2019©International Skating Union (ISU)

Ireen Wüst (NED) won the first two ISU World Cup Speed Skating races in the ladies' 1500m this season but was surprisingly beaten by Ivanie Blondin (CAN) in the third race in Nur-Sultan in December. Wüst was again defeated at the Dutch trials, when Melissa Wijfje (NED) won the 1500m. In January Wüst was back on track, however. She won the ISU European Speed Skating 1500m title in January, and she is the only skater, male and female combined, to currently hold the ISU European Speed Skating, ISU World Speed Skating and Olympic titles in the same distance.

ISU World Cup Speed Skating Standings 1500m Ladies

5000m men: Roest rules the roost

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Patrick Roest (NED) at the ISU European Speed Skating Championships 2020©International Skating Union (ISU)

Patrick Roest (NED) won three long distance events (two 5000m races and one 10,000m) in the ISU World Cup Speed Skating so far his season. Danila Semerikov (RUS) also took a 5000m gold, but that was in absence of the Dutchmen. Roest's senior team-mate and mentor Sven Kramer (NED) will make only his second ISU World Cup Speed Skating appearance this season, after having been out with back problems since the first ISU World Cup Speed Skating in Minsk in November. If Kramer has fully recovered, he is likely to be one of the few skaters who is able to challenge Roest for the long distance crown this season.

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Sverre Lunde Pedersen (NOR) at the ISU World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships 2019©International Skating Union (ISU)

Another contender who hopes to bounce back from injury trouble is Sverre Lunde Pedersen (NOR). The reigning 5000m world champion had a bike accident in November, which did not seem too bad in the beginning, but eventually kept him from being able to train and recuperate at top level for several months. After finishing sixth at the ISU European Speed Skating Championships in Heerenveen in January, he finally felt that he could train to his full potential again. Calgary might be the first place to show that in competition.

ISU World Cup Speed Skating Standings 5000m Men

For full entry lists and further information regarding the ISU World Cup Speed Skating Series please visit the Series Page on ISU.org. Click here for results.

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ISU World Cup Speed Skating Series 2019/20:

Minsk (BLR) - Nov 15 – 17

Tomaszów Mazowiecki (POL) – Nov 22 – 24

Nur-Sultan (KAZ) – Dec 6 – 8

Nagano (JPN) – Dec 13 – 15

Calgary (CAN) – Feb 7 – 8

Final – Heerenveen (NED) – Mar 7 - 8