Hamar (dpa) – The German speed skaters have no chance of a top place at the Sprint World Championships in Hamar, Norway, after the first of two days of competition.
At halftime of the four-way battle, Nico Ihle from Chemnitz is in 14th place with 70.665 points. At the start, the 36-year-old ran over 500 meters in 35.75 seconds in 19th place, and then improved over 1000 in 1:09.83 minutes thanks to seventh place meters in the general classification.
Moritz Klein (Erfurt) finished 18th after 35.80 seconds over 500 meters and 1:10.76 minutes over 1000 meters with 71.180 points, Hendrik Dombek (Munich) was 19th with 71.230 points after 35.74 seconds and 1 :10.98 minutes. The leader after two competitions was Canadian Laurent Debreuil with 69.005 points for 34.58 seconds over 500 meters and 1:08.85 minutes over 1000 meters. Both routes will be run again this Friday.
In the women’s category, Jutta Leerdam from the Netherlands was in first place with 75.550 points for 38.11 seconds over 500 meters and 1:14.88 minutes over 1000 meters, closely followed by her compatriot Femke Kok (75.620). German runners were not at the start.