After winning the final 3000m race and the long distance World Cup trophy in Tomaszów Mazowiecki on Friday, Ragne Wiklund (NOR) triumphed again in the last 1500m race of the World Cup season. Miho Takagi (JPN) took bronze after already having secured her career-third 1500m World Cup trophy last week. McKenzie Browne, Erin Jackson and Kimi Goetz (USA) wrapped up Saturday’s action, taking home the Team Sprint World Cup trophy after winning the third and final race.
Ragne Wiklund made it back-to-back golds with victory in the 1500m in Poland © ISU
Nerveless Wiklund
Keeping composure was key to Wiklund’s success in the 1500m. The Norwegian, who has already won the 1500m World title once, normally feels more comfortable skating the 3000m, but sometimes everything falls into place.
“I feel more confident in the 3000m,” she said. “I think the 1500m is one of the most fun, but also the hardest distance to be good at, because of the pacing and also, I miss out on the technique a bit if I get too stressed.”
Wiklund (centre) had already been crowned 3000m World Cup Champion © ISU
In Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong (NED), Wiklund had the perfect opponent on Saturday. Starting in the inside lane, the Dutch skater had a faster opener, but Wiklund smoothly worked her way into the race. She said:
“I was really telling myself that I just shouldn't stress to catch her, but just use the first lap to gain speed, and then I saw the difference in lap time which kind of calmed me a bit.
“But I know that she’s a really good fighter and that she always comes back in the last lap. So, for me it was really important to just keep pushing.”
Finishing on the inner corner, Wiklund managed to keep her opponent at bay with a final time of 1:56.45. Rijpma-de Jong crossed the line 0.94 later to take silver, making amends for a disappointing ninth place in the 3000m on Friday.
Antoinette Ripja-de Jong was happy with her 1500m silver © ISU
“This is better than yesterday,” Rijpma-de Jong said. “I was angry after that 3000m, I suffered from back pain, and I’ve not been feeling comfortable for the whole week. My timing was off, everything went the wrong way.”
Miho Takagi (JPN) already had an unbeatable lead in the World Cup standings after last week’s bronze medal, but she struggled to find the right rhythm in Tomaszów Mazowiecki. The Olympic runner-up in the 1500m again finished third in 1:57.59.
Miho Takagi ended with the 1500m bronze medal © ISU
“My skating was better this week,” said Takagi. “But it’s still not what it should be. My body doesn’t recover very well and I don’t really know why.
“The start was better than last week, but in the 3000m [which Takagi skated in the B Division] my last laps didn’t work out very well either. I am still not where I want to be, technically.”
USA executes Team Sprint perfectly
McKenzie Browne, Erin Jackson and Kimi Goetz (USA) conquered the Team Sprint World Cup with their second win in three races this season. Having skated all three races with the same line-up, the Americans knew exactly how to execute the technically difficult race.
USA took Women's Team Sprint gold in Poland to take the overall World Cup trophy © ISU
USA’s third skater Goetz crossed the line in 1:27.92 seconds, 0.81 ahead of silver medalists Canada (Ivanie Blondin, Carolina Hiller and Brooklyn McDougall) and 1.59 faster than bronze medalists China (Han Mei, Jin Jingzhu and Zhang Lina).
Canada ended the Team Sprint World Cup with three silvers © ISU
Jackson said: “I think it's just a lot of fun to able to skate with my pals. and of course, it's always fun to win, and we did that a couple times this season, so that just makes it even better.
“The main thing is just being able to have a fun race. The team sprint is not as high pressure [as the individual events], we just go out and have a good time.”
Program
The second of two back-to-back Tomaszów Mazowiecki World Cups events starts with the 1500m and the Team Sprint for Men, and the 500m and 3000m for Women on Friday. On Saturday, the Women will skate the 1500m and the Team Sprint, while the Men take on the 500m and the 5000m, and the Sunday schedule features the 1000m and Mass Start for both genders.
For all information about the ISU World Cup Speed Skating Series, please visit the webpage here.
World Cup Standings - Men
World Cup Standings - Women
Where to watch
Viewers will be able to watch the World Cup sessions (local time) via their national broadcaster/channel.
For countries where there are no broadcasters, the ISU will offer a live stream on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel. You will find the full list on the Where to watch webpage here.
ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series events 2022/23:
Nov 11 - 13, 2022 Stavanger /NOR
Nov 18 - 20, 2022 Heerenveen/ NED
Dec 09 - 11, 2022 Calgary /CAN
Dec 16 - 18, 2022 Calgary /CAN
Feb 10 - 12, 2023 Tomaszów Mazowiecki /POL
Feb 17 - 19, 2023 World Cup Final - Tomaszów Mazowiecki /POL
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