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Irene Schouten(NED) competes in the Ladies 5000m during the 2021 ISU World Speed Skating Championships in Heerenveen, Netherlands.@ISU

After rounding up the World Cup Series in Tomaszów Mazowiecki (POL) two weeks ago, the international Speed Skating elite is getting ready for the season’s climax at the World Single Distance Championships in Heerenveen (NED) this weekend. World Cup winners hope to confirm their status, while others are looking for revenge. The Dutch skaters hope to celebrate an historic hundredth World Single Distance title on home ice in the legendary Thialf stadium.  

Schouten back on the ice

One of the big question marks ahead of the tournament is Irene Schouten (NED). The triple Olympic Champion in Beijing decided to take a break from competition during the second half of the Speed Skating season because she was mentally exhausted. In Heerenveen she’ll return to the ice to fight for the 3000m, 5000m and Mass Start titles.

Irene Schouten (NED) races in the 5000m Women Division A during the 2022 ISU World Cup Speed Skating in Calgary, Alberta. @ISU

Schouten will face tough competition in all events. Ragne Wiklund (NOR) already managed to beat the Olympic Champion at the first World Cup of the season in Stavanger and she secured the long distance World Cup Trophy in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, also winning 1500m gold in the final World Cup weekend.

Ragne Wiklund (NOR) competes during the 2023 ISU World Cup Speed Skating Final in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland. @ISU

Long distance rivals

Wiklund prefers the 3000m over the 1500m or the 5000m. Schouten’s most probable rivals in the longest distance for the women are Martina Sáblíková (CZE) and Sanne in ’t Hof (NED).

Martina Sáblíková (CZE) competes in the Women's 3000m during the 2023 ISU World Cup Speed Skating in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland. @ISU

The 35-year-old Czech veteran already won the World 5000m title ten times. Coming second in the 3000m at the last World Cup in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Sáblíková was happy to notice that she had fully recovered from an open leg wound she suffered at a training crash in Calgary last December.

In ‘t Hof set this season’s fastest 5000m time in 6:47.28, when she won the World Cup B Division race in Calgary last December. Schouten had won the A Division race earlier in the afternoon in 6:48.06, the second-best time of the current season. Olympic 5000m runner-up Isabelle Weidemann (CAN) set the third season-time coming second behind Schouten in 6:48.58.

In the Mass Start, Schouten will team-up with Marijke Groenewoud (NED) again. The 24-year-old Dutchwoman defends her World title in the event, after beating Ivanie Blondin (CAN) and Schouten in the bunch sprint at the 2021 Championships. Blondin won this season’s Mass Start World Cup Trophy.

Irene Schouten (NED), Marijke Groenewoud (NED) competing at the 2022 Speedskating World Cup 1 in Stavanger, Norway. @Getty Images

Big names in short distances

Four names stand out in this season’s women’s short distances. Kim Min Sun  (KOR) was invincible in the first five World Cup 500m races of the season, but the Korean revelation had to bow her head to Vanessa Herzog (AUT) in the final race of the series.

Min-Sun Kim (KOR) and Vanessa Herzog (AUT) compete in the Women's 500m during the 2023 ISU World Cup Speed Skating in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland.@ISU

The Austrian 2019 World 500m Champion, who had suffered a fever after getting back from the Calgary World Cups in December, took her first World Cup win since 7 March 2020, getting a confidence boost ahead of the Heerenveen Championships: “At the moment, it feels right,” she said in Tomaszów Mazowiecki. “I'm not really in ‘peak’, but I'm in, but there’s two more weeks to go.”

Jutta Leerdam (NED) came third in the last 500m World Cup race of the season. She too got a confidence boost: “I was on the 500m World Cup podium four times this season, and today’s race gives me the feeling that I really belong on that podium. I’m looking forward to the 500m at the Worlds. Surely, I am one of the contenders and I’ve never been a contender in the 500m before at the World Championships.”

Jutta Leerdam (NED) poses with the gold medal after the Women's 1000m during the 2023 ISU World Cup Speed Skating Final in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland.@ISU

For Leerdam, the 1000m is her main target, however. The 24-year-old Dutchwoman won five races this World Cup season, but missed out on the World Cup Trophy by one point, because she skipped the penultimate World Cup weekend in order to prepare for the World Championships.

Olympic Champion Miho Takagi (JPN) ran away with the trophy. Both Takagi and Leerdam set their sights on the World title. Takagi said: “Of course, I’m happy to win the World Cup, but my goal is always to win at the Olympic Games or the World Championships. So, this is just a stepping stone.”

Goetz spearheads American women

American Olympic 500m Champion Erin Jackson shifted attention to inline activities during the summer and only took one podium spot in this year’s World Cup races, still ending up third in the ranking, however. Brittany Bowe (USA) also changed her routine this season, focusing more on stamina. She slowly grew into the season, with a bronze medal in the fifth World Cup 1000m as her best result.

Brittany Bowe (USA) competes in the Women's 1000m during the 2023 ISU World Cup Speed Skating Final in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland. @ISU

With Jackson and Bowe out of the limelight, Kimi Goetz (USA) stepped up this season. The 29-year-old took her career first World Cup win in the 1000m when Leerdam was absent in Tomaszów Mazowiecki and finished third in the 1000m ranking.

Friendly fight in Men’s Sprint

The Men’s 500m is likely to end up in a battle between Laurent Dubreuil (CAN) and Yuma Murakami (JPN). The winner and runner-up of this season’s World Cup ranking in the shortest distance are both rivals and good friends on the ice.

Laurent Dubreuil (CAN) competes in the Men's 1000m during the 2023 ISU World Cup Speed Skating Final in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland. @ISU

Murakami trained together with Dubreuil in Quebec last summer and the two became close friends. On the ice they want to beat each other, however. Murakami won this season’s first and last 500m World Cup race, while Dubreuil won twice in between.

Stolz up for Heiden challenge

Jordan Stolz (USA) took silver in the last 500m World Cup race of the season. The American youngster surprised the international Speed Skating elite this season with two 1500m and two 1000m World Cup wins. After taking the Allround World Junior title in Inzell (GER) last February, Stolz can become the second male skater in history to win both a World junior and a World senior title in the same season. To this day his famous compatriot Eric Heiden is the only male to have done so, winning both the junior and senior Allround World titles in 1977 and 1978. His sister Beth Heiden is the only female skater who achieved this in 1979.

Jordan Stolz (USA) competes in the Men's 1000m during the 2023 ISU World Cup Speed Skating Final in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland. @ISU

Stolz’ main contenders in the 1000m will be Hein Otterspeer (NED). The 34-year-old Dutchman, sixteen years older than Stolz’, won his career first World Cup Trophy in the distance this season. Dubreuil came second in the 1000m World Cup and when the ice is fast, the Canadian 500m specialist is one of the contenders in the 1000m too. Thomas Krol (NED) has been struggling throughout this season, and finishing fourth in the World Cup ranking was not what he had in mind before the season start. The Olympic Champion hopes to make amends in Heerenveen.

 Thomas Krol (NED) before competing on the 1000m Men Division A during the 2023 ISU Speed Skating World Cup Finals in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland @Getty Images

Krol will also take on Stolz in the 1500m, which is one of the most competitive distances in the Men’s field. Apart from Krol and Stolz, World Cup winner Connor Howe (CAN), Olympic Champion Kjeld Nuis (NED), his compatriot Patrick Roest and Norway’s Sander Eitrem chase the crown in the King’s race.

Ghiotto seeking long distance redemption

Roest and Eitrem are also favorites in the long distances. They’ll face a very much motivated Davide Ghiotto.

Davide Ghiotto (ITA) looks on in the Men's 5000m during the 2023 ISU World Cup Speed Skating Final in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland.@ISU

The Italian endurance specialist missed out on this season’s long distances World Cup trophy by two points, due to a disqualification for a wrong change-up on the backstretch with Eitrem in the final 5000m World Cup of the season.

Beau Snellink (NED) ended on top of the ranking, but the Dutch youngster did not qualify for the 5000m or the 10,000m at the Dutch trials. Roest will be accompanied by Jorrit Bergsma and Marcel Bosker in the 5000m and by Bergsma in the 10,000m.

Swings Mass Start favorite

The Men’s Mass Start is Bart Swings (BEL) territory. The Olympic Champion won his fourth consecutive World Cup trophy this season, and his fifth in total. He said: “It’s great to have such a streak. The Mass Start is unpredictable. To win the ranking, and to win it more than once, that’s something I’m very proud of.

 Bart Swings (BEL) looks on in the Men's 5000m during the 2023 ISU World Cup Speed Skating Final in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland.@ISU

Winning a Mass Start Championships race, is one of the hardest things in Speed Skating, especially when you’re the main favorite. Swings doesn’t worry too much about rivals Andrea Giovannini (ITA), Livio Wenger (SUI) and Bart Hoolwerf (NED) watching his back, however: “There’s always races when you make the wrong choice, but I know how to race it and therefore I often end up on top.”

North American power in Team events

Apart from the individual races, the World Single Distance Championships also feature the Team Sprint and Team Pursuit events. Canada’s Isabelle Weidemann, Ivanie Blondin and Valérie Maltais won their fourth consecutive World Cup trophy, wrapping up their third consecutive perfect season in in Tomaszów Mazowiecki.

Ivanie Blondin (CAN), Isabelle Weidemann (CAN), Valerie Maltais (CAN) competing on the Women's A Group Team Pursuit during the 2023 ISU Speed Skating World Cup 5 in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland @ISU

The versatile Blondin is also the Team Sprint squad, which ended up second in this season’s World Cup ranking, behind Team USA with the unbeaten McKenzie Browne, Jackson and Goetz.

In the Men’s Team Pursuit the well-oiled Team USA (Ethan Cepuran, Emery Lehman, Casey Dawson) won this season’s World Cup, but Olympic Champions Norway (Peder Kongshaug, Sverre Lunde Pedersen, Sander Eitrem) beat them in the last race. 

Sverre Lunde Pedersen (NOR), Sander Eitrem (NOR), Peder Kongshaug (NOR) winner of the gold medal after competing on the Men's A Group Team Pursuit during the 2023 ISU Speed Skating World Cup 5  in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland @ISU

The Netherlands won this season’s Team sprint World Cup ranking, skating three races in three different line-ups. With Merijn Scheperkamp, Hein Otterspeer and Wesly Dijs they’ll again start with a new line-up at the World Championships. World Cup runners up Canada, third ranked Norway and the fast Polish sprinters are their main rivals in Thialf.

Program

The World Single Distance Championships start with the 3000m for Women, the 5000m for Men and the Team Sprint events for both genders on Thursday. On the following two days the program is similar for both genders. Friday features the Team Pursuit and the 500m, and Saturday starts with the Mass Start semi-finals, followed by the 1000m, to conclude with the Mass Start finals. On Sunday both genders will contest the 1500m gold, before the event closes off with the 10,000m for men and the 5000m for women.

Where to Watch

Viewers will be able to watch the races via their national broadcasters’ 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.

Subscribe to the ISU Newsletter to receive the latest information about events, and to the Skating ISU YouTube Channel to receive notifications when live streams start or new videos are published.

For further information on the ISU World Speed Skating Championships, visit the event webpage here.