Beijing (AP) – Claudia Pechstein missed a top result at the end of the speed skating competitions at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, but said goodbye very respectably.
Three days before her 50th birthday, the record-breaking Olympian finished ninth in her eighth games in the mass start race. Irene Schouten from the Netherlands, who celebrated her third Olympic victory in Beijing, won gold ahead of Ivanie Blondin from Canada and Francesca Lollobrigida from Italy.
Pechstein was also unable to prevent the German speed skaters from not winning a medal at the Winter Games for the third time in a row. Nevertheless, the oldest participant in the field provided the best result for the women of the German Speed Skating and Short Track Association (DESG). Overall, seventh place by Patrick Beckert from Erfurt over 10,000 meters was the only top ten result for the German skaters.
Uhrig fall in the semifinals
Thanks to a courageous race in the semifinals, Pechstein made it into the final, where she won an intermediate sprint. A good two laps before the end, she attacked and gained a lead from which she lived to the finish. Seventh place in the standings was enough to qualify for the final. For Michelle Uhrig from Berlin, the end came after a fall in eleventh place in the semifinals. Felix Rijhnen from Frankfurt/Main, who was 14th in his semifinals, also missed the final.
Pechstein had previously described the 16-lap, point-sprint mass start competition as “a lottery race.” “Some say that a surprise is always possible in the mass start. That’s true, but I’m still a realist and say that I can no longer win an Olympic medal,” explained the Berliner.
Since her Olympic debut in 1992 in Albertville, Claudia Pechstein has won five gold medals and two silver and two bronze medals in her career. At the start of their eighth Winter Games, Pechstein had finished 20th and last place over 3000 meters. The 49-year-old left open whether she would continue her career after Beijing. “I’ve been running from Olympia to Olympia since 2002. Most recently from year to year. Speed skating is my life. Sport is my life,” she emphasized.
Belgian Swings wins men’s gold
For men, European champion Bart Swings became Olympic champion in the mass start. The 31-year-old Belgian won thanks to a strong final sprint ahead of the two South Koreans Chung Jae Won and Lee Seung-Hoon. In 2018 in Pyeongchang at the Olympic premiere of the discipline, Lee won before swings. Felix Rijhnen from Frankfurt/Main was eliminated as 14th in his semi-final. To reach the finals, he would have had to finish in the top eight.