Speed skater Moritz Klein achieved the best German result on the first day of the European Championships in Heerenveen, the Netherlands.
The 23-year-old from Erfurt surprisingly finished fifth in the 1000 m in 1:08.77 minutes on Friday evening. The title went to three-time Olympic champion Kjeld Nuis (1:07.87) from the Netherlands. Klein’s teammate Hendrik Dombek was ninth (1:09.13).
The Norwegians provided a highlight in the atmospheric Thialf ice stadium in the men’s team pursuit. The victorious Olympic champions ran to the world record in 3:34.22 minutes. The USA’s old record from December 2021 was 3:34.47 minutes.
In the women’s team sprint, the German trio Anna Ostlender, Michelle Uhrig and Lea Sophie Scholz came fourth in 1:29.62 minutes. The Dutch women secured victory in 1:27.36 minutes to great cheers.
In the women’s competition over 3000 m, Josie Hofmann achieved a German top ten result. The Erfurt woman took ninth place in 4:13.13 minutes. Behind them came 18-year-old Maira Jasch with a personal best of 4:15.63 and Uhrig (4:15.77) in 14th and 15th place. The Dutch Marijke Groenewoud (3:56.27) took the title.
Claudia Pechstein is not there in Heerenveen. The 51-year-old was unable to prevail in the internal German qualification.