All eyes at the third and final ISU Junior World Cup Speed Skating event of the season in Hachinohe will be on Angel Daleman (NED) and Finn Sonnekalb (GER) this weekend. The pair scooped every individual Speed Skating gold on offer at the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in the women’s and men’s competitions, respectively. But the World Cup is a different ballgame, with the return of many experienced junior skaters who were too old to compete in Gangwon.
Finn Sonnekalb returns to Junior World Cup action after winning three golds at the Winter Youth Olympics in Gangwon, Korea @OIS
McDonald's for Daleman, busy schedule for Veen
Daleman is not in the mix for overall World Cup Trophies after skipping the first two events of the season. The 16-year-old talent traveled straight from Gangwon to Hachinohe for the World Cup finals.
“First I’m going to rest a lot because it was a heavy week,” she said after completing her Youth Olympic hattrick of gold medals in the 500m, 1000m and 1500m. “I’m probably going to eat some McDonald's at the airport.”
Angel Daleman (centre) won triple gold at the Winter Youth Olympics in Gangwon, Korea @Getty Images
Her main focus is on the Junior World Championships at the same track a week later.
“When I think about the Worlds, I feel so nervous already. But I’ve been great this entire week, so that gives me a lot of confidence as well.”
At the World Cup, Daleman will only start in the 500m and the Team Sprint, together with Meike Veen andJillian Knook (NED).
Angel Daleman will compete in two events at the final Junior World Cup of the season @Getty Images
Veen, who was too old to compete at the Youth Olympics, has a busier schedule at the Hachinohe World Cup and will also skate the 1000m and 1500m. She leads the 1500m rankings, after winning the first two races in Baselga di Piné and Collalbo, and sits second in the 1000m rankings, five points behind Wiktoria Dąbrowska from Poland.
Meike Veen leads the 1500m Junior World Cup rankings after two golds this season @ISU
Norway’s long distance specialist Aurora Grinden Løvås (NOR), also too old to compete at the Games, hopes to take home the 3000m trophy after winning the first two races.
Aurora Grinden Lovas is favorite to win the 3000m Junior World Cup Trophy in Hachinohe, Japan @ISU
Eighteen-year-old Seoyeon Cho (KOR), who was also not eligible to skate in Gangwon, leads the Mass Start World Cup ranking ahead of Leewon Lim (KOR), who made the Youth Olympic semi-finals.
Sonnekalb, Gunji (JPN) and Jílek (CZE) in pole position
After sweeping all three individual men’s events at the Youth Olympics, Sonnekalb said he hopes to have a prolific senior career:
“It’s a big accomplishment. I hope that this is the start of a long career for me. I know this is just the beginning. I want to be at the Olympic Games (Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics) and then I’ll see want I can do.”
But first the 16-year-old German has a chance to collect more silverware in the junior ranks facing against a range of rivals. Sonnekalb will skate the 1000m, 1500m and Team Sprint at the Hachinohe World Cup.
Finn Sonnekalb will compete in three events at the final Junior World Cup of the season @OIS
In the 1000m he is currently ranked 6th. Issa Gunji (JPN) and Koo Kyungmin (KOR), both too old to be eligible for the Games, lead the rankings, both having won a gold and a silver medal in the previous races. Gunji is also in pole position for the 500m gold after winning both previous events.
Issa Gunji is joint top of the 1000m rankings ahead of the final Junior World Cup in Hachinohe, Japan @ISU
The 1500m is Sonnekalb’s best bet for a World Cup Trophy, as he leads the rankings ahead of 19-year-old Wenhao Li (CHN), who also was not eligible in Gangwon.
Metoděj Jílek (CZE) is third in the 1500m rankings, but the 17-year-old Czech is an endurance specialist, and is targeting the 3000m and the Mass Start, in which he has won every gold medal so far this Junior World Cup season.
Metodej Jilek has won every long distance race in the Junior World Cup so far this season @ISU
Team Trophies
After a Team Pursuit and a Mixed Gender Relay in the first two Junior World Cups, the last Junior World Cup features the Team Sprint to make up for a combined Team ranking.
The Netherlands goes on top in both the girls’ and the boys’ competition, with Korea and Kazakhstan coming second and third in the girls’ ranking, while Norway and Korea are chasing the Dutch in the boys’ competition.
Program
The Hachinohe World Cup program comprises the 1000m, Team Sprint and 3000m for both genders on Saturday, and on Sunday both genders will skate the 500m, the 1500m and the Mass Start.
Hachinohe concludes the ISU Junior World Cup series for the 2023-24 season. The overall winners per distance/team competition after all three events will be awarded a Junior World Cup Trophy, and there are diplomas for second and third place. One week after the final World Cup, Hachinohe will also host the ISU World Junior Championships
Eligibility and Neo-Seniors
The ISU Junior World Cup Speed Skating is a series of Junior Speed Skating events, which takes place annually since 2008. Participation in the Juniors division is open to Juniors A and B, born in the period 1 July 2004 – 30 June 2008.
As part of the ISU Junior World Cup Speed Skating competitions there’s an ISU Neo-Senior World Cup, with skaters competing in the same events. This gives a chance to skaters who have not yet reached World Cup level in the senior ranks to develop further internationally. Participation in the Neo-Seniors division is open to skaters born in the period 1 July 2000 – 30 June 2004.
