Blondin wins 1st speedskating WCup title at classic distance
Shikhova, Takagi lead overall standings
ERFURT, Germany, Jan 22, (AP): Ivanie Blondin won her first speedskating World Cup title at a classic distance with victory in the women’s 3,000 meters on Sunday.
The Canadian, who already had five mass start and two team pursuit golds, finished in 4 minutes, 4.86 seconds to beat Antoinette de Jong of the Netherlands by 0.59 seconds and Czech skater Martina Sablikova by 1.05.
“It’s always been a goal for me,” said Blondin, who took the World Cup lead from Sablikova. Blondin has 335 points and Sablikova 320.
Dutch skater Kjeld Nuis matched the 1,000-meter track record for his second title at that distance in as many days. Nuis clocked 1:08.40, beating Norway’s Havard Holmefjord Lorentzen by 0.26 and Russia’s Denis Yuskov by 0.55.
Overall leader Lorentzen earlier won the second men’s 500 of the weekend, his third of the season, edging world champion Jan Smeekens of the Netherlands by 0.10 and Alex Boisvert-Lacroix of Canada by 0.15.
Lorentzen also extended his 500 standings lead.
Vanessa Herzog followed Saturday’s victory in the women’s 500 - her first World Cup title — by winning the women’s 1,000 in 1:15.26.
“I could very well get used to winning,” the Austrian said.
Norway’s Hege Bokko was 0.26 behind in second, ahead of Russia’s Yekaterina Shikhova, 0.80 behind.
Shikhova leads the 1,000 standings on 340 points, ahead of Japan’s Nao Kodaira — who didn’t race in Erfurt — on 305 and Herzog on 296.
Japan’s Miho Takagi still leads the women’s overall World Cup standings on 800 points — 100 ahead of Kodaira and 270 ahead of Herzog.
Lorentzen leads the men’s overall standings on 640 points, ahead of Yuskov on 595 and Norwegian teammate Sverre Lunde Pedersen on 500.