Essent ISU World Cup Speed Skating –Erfurt (GER)
The first series of World Cups concludes in Erfurt, Germany,
where the sprinters have come for their 500 and 1000m races,
and the 100 for the first time this season..
Ladies
For the German ladies, there is plenty to celebrate. Anni
Friesinger (GER) is on every podium, winning both 1000m races
by a comfortable margin, and for the first time in her life
making the podium on the 500m as well, finishing second behind
the World Cup leader Jenny Wolf, also from Germany, whose
speed made everybody else look bleak in comparison. On Saturday,
Wolf won with 38.00 while Friesinger used 38.61 to finish
second. Third was Annette Gerritsen from the Netherlands,
38.68. The next day, Wolf had a successful hack at the track
record, and made it hers, with an opening of 10.27 and final
time 37.88. This time, Gerritsen is second, but at a distance
of 0.84 from Wolf, and Korean Sang-Hwa Lee is only 0.04 behind
Gerritsen. In the ranking, Wolf has a firm lead, 760 points,
over Beixing Wang, who has 520 points. Annette Gerritsen is
third with 486.
Behind Friesinger on the 1000m, Chiara Simionato finished
second, just ahead of Cindy Klassen, the first day. The next
day Simionato was third, not because she was much slower than
the first day, but because Ireen Wüst from the Netherlands
had found back her timing that she said she was looking for
earlier in the season. Wüst’s 1:16.11 felt like
a victory to her. Friesinger leads in the ranking after four
clear victories and two second places at the start of the
season. She has 560 points. Chiara Simionato is second with
440, third is Cindy Klassen, 302, followed by Christine Nesbitt,
Canada, 290 who was not racing in Erfurt.
Men
Besides some Japanese athletes, Jeremy Wotherspoon, world
record holder on the 500m and Pekka Koskela, world record
holder in the 1000m, are both absent. Koskela has an injury.
Wotherspoon focuses on the World Sprints. But the fast Koreans
are in Erfurt. Kang-Seok Lee won both 500m races, first in
35.22, keeping Dmitrij Lobkov from Russia 0.02 behind him,
with his countryman Kyou-Hyuk Lee in third place, 35.31. The
next day Kang-Seok Lee had to be faster, because as he started,
another Korean, Joon Mun, had already skated 35.21. Kang-Seok
Lee managed to win that second 500 as well, 35.17, but could
not set a track record. Simon Kuipers from the Netherlands
had his first podium finish on the 500m, after several good
results in the 1000 and 1500m. Kang-Seok Lee is leading with
630 points, Kyou-Huk Lee has 465, Dmitrij Lobkov 414, closely
followed by Fredricks (401), Wotherspoon and Mun (400 points).
In the 1000m, Shani Davis took the track record on the first
day, with 1:09.05, beating Denny Morrison from Canada, 1:09.33,
and Joon Mun, 1:09.49. Davis, who because of this World Cup
missed the birth of his first son on Thursday, said: “My
mind was elsewhere, but my body is programmed to skate the
1000m, so I guess it went well.” But the next day, that
track record was taken from him by a very strong Dutchman,
Jan Bos. 1:08.98 was Bos’ time, and though Davis was
a little faster than on Saturday, 1:09.02, he had to be content
with second place. Again Joon Mun finished on the podium,
1:09.26. Shani Davis still leads the 1000m ranking with 510
points. Denny Morrison is second with 356, and Jan Bos with
337 points also passed Kyou-Hyuk Lee, who was hindered at
the first 1000m and didn’t take his right to reskate.
Lee has 323 points.
In the 100m, Jenny Wolf won with 10.22, the fastest single
100m ever, ahead of Aihua Xing (CHN) and Judith Hesse (GER).
In the men’s field Kang-Seok Lee was the strongest,
followed by Fengtong Yu and Zhongqi Zhang (both Chinese).
There was not a single personal best improved this weekend
on the Olympic distances, but the track records fell in the
500m ladies and 1000m men.
Essent ISU World Cup Speed Skating –Erfurt
(GER) - Medal Winners
Saturday Dec. 15
500m Ladies
1 Jenny Wolf GER 38.00
2 Anni Friesinger GER 38.61
3 Annette Gerritsen NED 38.68
500m Men
1 Kang-Seok Lee KOR 35.22
2 Dmitrij Lobkov RUS 35.24
3 Kyou-Hyuk Lee KOR 35.31
1000m Ladies
1 Anni Friesinger GER 1:15.71
2 Chiara Simionato ITA 1:16.46
3 Cindy Klassen CAN 1:16.48
1000m Men
1 Shani Davis USA 1:09.05 TR
2 Denny Morrison CAN 1:09.33
3 Joon Mun KOR 1:09.49
Sunday Dec. 16
500m Ladies
1 Jenny Wolf GER 37.88 TR
2 Annette Gerritsen NED 38.72
3 Sang-Hwa Lee KOR 38.76
500m Men
1 Kang-Seok Lee KOR 35.17
2 Joon Mun KOR 35.21
3 Simon Kuipers NED 35.26
1000m Ladies
1 Anni Friesinger GER 1:15.64
2 Ireen Wüst NED 1:16.11
3 Chiara Simionato ITA 1:16.49
1000m Men
1 Jan Bos NED 1:08.98 TR
2 Shani Davis USA 1:09.02
3 Joon Mun KOR 1:09.26
100m Ladies
1 Jenny Wolf GER 10.22 WR
2 Aihua Xing CHN 10.59
3 Judith Hesse GER 10.62
100m Men
1 Kang-Seok Lee KOR 9.64
2 Fengtong Yu CHN 9.66
2 Zhongqi Zhang CHN 9.79
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