For skater Merijn Scheperkamp from Hilversum, the grapes are sour. Today he came third in the 500 meters at the National Championships distances. Because his time was not among the three fastest times of the evening, he was unable to qualify for the World Championships distances.
At the National Championships you ride the 500 meters twice. These times are added together to determine the final ranking. To qualify for the World Championship distances, the three fastest times are taken into account. The North Hollander was not among them.
“I’m disappointed. That medal is really nice, but you want to go to the World Cup,” said a disappointed Scheperkamp afterwards. The skater will compete in the 1000 meters at the National Distance Championships on Saturday.
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There was success for Janno Botman from Andijk. He took silver in the 500 meters and also clocked a time of 34.62 seconds. That time did provide a starting ticket for the World Championship distances. The gold went to Jenning de Boo.
Irene Schouten from Hoogkarspel rode the 1500 meters today. His finished seventh in a time of 1.55.93. and that was clearly not enough to win a starting ticket for the World Distance Championships.