Everything Irene Schouten touches this season turns to gold. The skater from Hoogkarspel won the World Allround Championships in Hamar, Norway on Sunday for the first time in her career. In the final five kilometers the North Holland rider trumped her Japanese competitor Miho Takagi.
It remained unusually exciting until the end, because Takagi skated against Antoinette de Jong in the last stage. The Japanese finished fourth, while Schouten finished second behind Martina Sáblíková. The Hoogkarspelse had to make up for six seconds on Takagi and passed with flying colors: 6.52.58 at 7.01.97.
Behind Takagi and Schouten, De Jong took the bronze. Merel Conijn was sixth in the five kilometers and thus finished sixth in the general classification. In the 1500 meters the Edam had become fourth with a personal best: 1.56.24.