Jutta Leerdam convincingly won gold on Saturday in the 1,000 meters of the World Championship distances in Heerenveen. At her favorite distance she skated with the winning 1.13.03, but just above her own track record. The silver went to Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong for the women. Japan’s Miho Takagi won bronze.
With the win, Leerdam lived up to expectations: earlier this season she was the best in the 1,000 meters in the World Cup and during the European Championship sprint a total of seven times. Leerdam won the world title earlier in 2020. At the 2021 World Cup in Heerenveen, the reigning European and world sprint champion had to settle for silver.
In the 1,000 meters for men, 18-year-old American Jordan Stolz convincingly won gold with a time of 1:07.11. With this he underlined his excellent form: on Friday, Stolz already took gold in the 500 meters with force majeure.
Thomas Krol won silver. For Krol, who ends a struggling season in Heerenveen well, second place meant his second World Cup medal in the 1,000 kilometers. In 2019 he also won silver at the same distance. Cornelius Kersten, Dutchman but playing for Great Britain, surprisingly took bronze. Kjeld Nuis just missed a medal, he finished in fourth place.
Also read this article aboutinfinite potentialby Jordan Stollz.