After winning all eight of her 1000m races this season, Jutta Leerdam (NED) was feeling the pressure at the start of the World Championships 1000m final on Saturday in Heerenveen. But one minute and 13.03 seconds later, she celebrated in relief. Leerdam crushed the field leaving silver medalist Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong (NED) 1.23 adrift. Olympic Champion Miho Takagi (JPN) took bronze. In the Mass Start Marijke Groenewoud (NED) retained her World title with an impressive ten-lap solo, finishing almost 15 seconds ahead of the pack.
Jutta Leerdam celebrates crossing the finish line to become World 1000m Champion @ISU
Thriving under pressure
Leerdam started in the final pairing versus Kimi Goetz (USA). Exploding from the start, she left her American opponent far behind at the 200m split. In the first full lap the Dutchwoman was the only skater to post a sub-27 lap in 26.57, finishing in 1:13.03. Goetz posted 1:14.48 to come in fourth.
“The pressure was so high, also from myself,” Leerdam said.
“I knew I was good enough to win, but then you still have to do it. And everybody is talking about it before the race. They all say: hey, it’s going to be your day and everything. So the pressure was immense.”
Leerdam's Worlds win completes a perfect season in the 1000m @ISU
“And there was a lot of little things that didn’t go well today [before the race],” Leerdam said. “I felt as if the whole universe was against me, so I’m extremely proud to pull it off. To beat the Olympic Champion when it counts, after last year’s second place in the Games that feels a bit like revenge.”
Perfect dress rehearsal
Olympic Champion Takagi skated in the penultimate pairing against Rijpma-de Jong. In a very tight race, the Dutch skater pipped Takagi to the line in 1:14.26, versus 1:14.37 for the Japanese.
“I hadn’t expected to be so close after the opener,” Rijpma-De Jong said. “I felt really good and I could get so much speed.”
Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong celebrates a dramatic silver in Heerenveen @ISU
“This was the perfect dress rehearsal,” she said. “For me the 1500m is way more important. It may sound odd, but the 1000m is more of a bonus event to me.”
Takagi was satisfied with bronze after a difficult post-Olympic season.
“I don’t have the technique, the physical ability and the energy I had last year. But I was able to skate full focus. I think I have to work hard to improve next year.”
OIympic Champion Miho Takagi ended with bronze in the 1000m @ISU
Well-deserved Mass Start win for Groenewoud
Marijke Groenewoud retained her Mass Start title in spectacular fashion. In 2021 her win had come as a surprise, when she crossed the line first after trying to lead-out the sprint for team-mate Irene Schouten (NED). This time her victory was sealed early with a convincing ten-lap solo-skate. Comparing the two titles wasn’t too difficult.
“I prefer this one,” Groenewoud smiled. “Last time out, everybody said it was sort of by accident, but this time that’s different. And this time out it was in front of a packed Thialf, whereas the previous one was in an empty stadium [because of Covid-19 restrictions].”
Marijke Groenewoud successfully defended her World Mass Start title from 2021 @ISU
Groenewoud and Schouten executed a simple race plan to perfection.
“We were going to attack in turns,” Schouten explained. “If you’re out there alone, it’s safer because in a sprint anything can happen.
“We sort of hoped that Ivanie Blondin (CAN) was going to counter me first and then Marijke, in order to wear her out. But then the second attack was the right one already.”
Groenewoud executed the perfect gameplan to win in Heerenveen @ISU
After Schouten’s initial attack, which had been countered by Valérie Maltais (CAN), Groenewoud jumped from Blondin’s back.
The Canadian saw it too late:
“We knew that they were going to simultaneously attack, because that is really the best tactic. Obviously, it's worked in the past for them, so today, like Val [Valérie Maltais] was watching Schouten, and I was supposed to be watching Marijke, but she really caught me off guard.”
Ivanie Blondin (left) and Irene Schouten battled it out for silver @ISU
For Groenewoud it was still a long way to go, but she thrived on the cheers of the home crowd.
“I had a big gap pretty fast, and I knew I would be able to keep it up. Those final 200m were awesome, I could already celebrate.”
Groenewoud was inspired by the packed stands in Heerenveen @ISU
Blondin eventually beat Schouten in the sprint for second place. The bronze medalist was happy for her golden teammate, but she would have preferred another medal for herself.
“Of course we won as a team, but I’d rather have skated up front myself. But that’s part of the game and we play it together. Whoever gets in that position, is lucky and you’re obviously not going to chase your teammate down.”
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.
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