Josie Hofmann from Dresden provided another sign of respect at the speed skating World Cup in Calgary, Canada. The European Championship runner-up in the team pursuit won the start of the event in the weaker B group in 3:57.71 minutes over 3,000 meters for a top time and improved her personal best by more than three seconds.
With the fastest German time over this distance for several years, the 28-year-old made it into the top 16 of the A division and missed the German record set by Stephanie Beckert (Erfurt) from 2009 by just 0.99 seconds.
Promotion to the A group is important for qualifying for the Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. The national criteria for participating in the Olympics are twice in the top 15 or once in the top eight in the top division.
The second World Cup of this winter will take place on the 1988 Olympic ice in Calgary until Sunday. At the start of the Olympic season, the German speed skaters set five national records last weekend. Finn Sonnekalb (Erfurt) improved the records over 1,000 and 1,500 meters and Gabriel Groß (Inzell) over 5,000 meters. In addition, the men’s and women’s trios set German records in the team pursuit.