Miho Takagi (JPN) edged out Kimi Goetz (USA) by 0.01s to win her second gold medal of the weekend, ahead of Jutta Leerdam (NED), who had won her previous six 1000m World Cup races. In the Mass Start Marijke Groenewoud (NED, pictured left) won after a powerful solo effort, with Canada’s Ivanie Blondin and Valérie Maltais (CAN) taking silver and bronze. Olympic champion Irene Schouten (NED) had to settle for fifth place at her return to the track where she celebrated three golds and a bronze at the Beijing 2022 Olympics.
Goetz set the bar high in the women’s 1000m at the Ice Ribbon. Finishing in one minute and 14.45 seconds, she was 0.30s faster than last week in Obihiro, from where she came away with bronze.
“I had a little slip off the start today,” she said. “I didn't open much faster than last week, but it was cleaner. So I think I could carry that momentum a little bit better.”
Leerdam was in the penultimate pairing with Brittany Bowe (USA), and the reigning world champion was slower than Goetz and her US pair-mate in the opener, but seemed to be back on track when she posted the fastest intermediate time after 600m. The final circuit proved to be a lap too far, however, and Leerdam came 0.43s short of Goetz’s mark.
“At the moment, Jutta’s condition is maybe not so good, but doesn’t mean that she is getting worse,” said Takagi afterwards. “She’s always strong and I’ll always try to beat her.”
The Japanese Olympic champion got drawn in a difficult final pairing against home skater Li Qishi (CHN). Starting in the outer lane, Takagi was faster in the opener, so much so that she got into trouble with the change-up on the first back-straight. Coming from the outer lane Takagi had priority, but Li was still slightly ahead.
Miho Takagi (JPN) who took 1000m gold at the ISU World Cup Speed Skating in Beijing, China © ISU
“I think she didn’t see me,” Takagi said. “I had to hold back and wait for her because if I would have gone on, we could have crashed. So I thought, wait and then cross [behind her back] and get past quickly.”
Both stayed up, but it meant Takagi trailed Goetz by 0.14s at the 600m split.
When the US skater saw that margin on the scoreboard, she already felt it coming.
“I just knew, with one to go and she's only a tenth behind, she would get it,” Goetz admitted. “I just didn't think [it would be] only that small of a margin.”
Takagi stopped the clock at 1:14.44, just one hundredth ahead of Goetz, who lost out on 500m gold by the same margin on Friday.
“Happy with it for the most part,” she said. “But everybody always could do something a little better, but that’s should have, could have, whatever, right?”
Leerdam just couldn’t find her groove in Beijing. “My problem here is the ice,” she said. “I’m quite tall and not really a lightweight, so I sink a bit into the ice and that’s not ideal.”
“I’m not too bothered that this [first 1000m defeat of the season] is out of the way. The pressure [to keep the streak alive] is so big. It makes me want to skate the perfect race every time I step onto the ice, but you cannot keep up with that kind of tension for the whole season. In the end the prizes that really count come at the end of the season.”
World champion Groenewoud dominates Mass Start
Marijke Groenewoud (NED) and team-mate Irene Schouten (NED) had skipped the first World Cup of the season in Obihiro last week, leaving Canada’s Ivanie Blondin and Valérie Maltais to dominate the Mass Start. Upon their return to the international circuit in Beijing, the Dutch pair took the initiative from the start.
Groenewoud was the first to attack, but was quickly countered by Blondin. Schouten tried to get away a little later, but everybody jumped on her back immediately. When Groenewoud tried to break free a second time, though, she was off.
“We tried to make it a tough race,” she said. “And the third attack was ‘bingo’. I had not expected that, because Blondin was so quick to react the first time out.”
“I think everyone was looking at each other,’ Maltais said. “Who’s gonna close that gap? And nobody committed at that point.”
“We did [have a plan] yet we were not fully on the plan and how to execute it. Today, it didn't work, like it didn't work out at the World Championships [last season in Heerenveen, when Groenewoud also won after a solo breakaway].
Blondin, like many of the skaters, had been a little under the weather. “It was my job [to counter the Groenewoud attack], but I didn't really have the energy,” she explained.
After quickly building a 200m gap over the pack, Groenewoud still had to keep up for over six laps.
Marijke Groenewoud (NED, left) prepared to make her move en route to gold in the Mass Start © ISU
“That’s still quite far,” she said. “But I felt that I could maintain my pace and the coaches also told me that I would probably stay out of sight if I could keep it up. To jump away and build that gap costs a lot of energy, but once you know you’ve got half a lap on the pack, it also feels comfortable when you know they’re not going to catch up anymore.”
Blondin now leads the World Cup rankings, ahead of Mia Kilburg--Manganello (USA) and Maltais.
For all information about the ISU World Cup Speed Skating Series, please visit the webpage here.
All Media Accreditations details and deadlines for the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series can be found here.
Where to watch
Viewers will be able to watch the World Cup sessions via their national broadcaster/channel.
For countries where there are no broadcasters, the ISU will offer a live stream with English commentary on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel. You will find the full list on the Where to watch webpage here.
Subscribe to the ISU YouTube Channel to receive all the latest videos and follow the conversation with #SpeedSkating.
ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series events 2023/24:
Nov 10 - 12, 2023 Obihiro /JPN
Nov 17 - 19, 2023 Beijing /CHN
Dec 01 - 03, 2023 Stavanger /NOR
Dec 08 - 10, 2023 Tomaszów Mazowiecki /POL
Jan 26 - 28, 2024 Salt Lake City /USA
Feb 02 - 04, 2024 Québec /CAN
About ISU World Cup Speed Skating Series
The ISU World Cup Speed Skating is a Series of Speed Skating competitions which have taken place annually since 1984. The series comprises six events (four during an Olympic season), with A Division and B Division races. Skaters can earn points at each competition, and the Skater with the most points on a given distance at the end of the series is the World Cup winner in that distance. The four World Cup Competitions held from November to December serve as qualifying events for entry quotas at the ISU European Championships, and the ISU Four Continents Championships. The whole series of six events serves as qualifying events for the World Single Distances Championships, and/or the World Sprint and Allround Speed Skating Championships.
World Cup titles are awarded in 500m, 1000m, 1500m, combined 5000m/10,000m, and Mass Start for men, and 500m, 1000m, 1500m, the combined 3000m/5000m, and Mass Start for women. Both genders also compete for the World Cup titles in Team Pursuit and Team Sprint. New in the 2023/24 program is the Mixed Gender Relay over six laps, in which teams of one man and one woman compete.
(For full explanation of this season’s ISU World Cup (entry rules, formats, qualifying, and prizes: https://www.isu.org/speed-skating/rules/ssk-communications/31562-isu-communication-2587/file)
