Femke Kok was the first Dutch skater ever to set a world record in the 500 meters on Sunday. During the World Cup competitions in Salt Lake City she skated a time of 36.09. With this, she fell far below the previous world record of 36.36, which the South Korean Lee Sang-hwa set exactly twelve years ago on the same track in Salt Lake City.
Kok is in good shape at the start of this Olympic skating season, as she proved earlier this weekend. In the first 500 meters she already broke the Dutch record with a time of 36.48.
“I can’t believe it,” Kok said to NOS after the match. She has watched former record holder Lee Sang-hwa’s ride “hundreds of times”. “I always thought: how can you go so fast?”
The last Dutch woman to skate a world record was Annemarie Thomas in 1999 in the 1,500 meters.
The Boo drives almost a world record
A Dutchman also won the 500 meters among the men. Reigning world champion Jenning de Boo finished tenth on Saturday, after what he called a “sloppy” race. He took revenge on Sunday. After one of the fastest laps ever (24.0), De Boo finished just 0.02 seconds above the world record; 33.63. It was a personal and national record, the second fastest time ever.
Perhaps most importantly, De Boo defeated Jordan Stolz, the American who had dominated at every distance he had competed until then. His 33.79 was faster than Saturday, but not fast enough.
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