The first medals at the Speed Skating World Championships in the Netherlands have been awarded. The hosts have already won three medals. From the German team, the team sprint men ensured a respectable success.
As expected, on the first day of the Speed Skating World Championships in Heerenveen in the Netherlands, the German competitors missed out on the medal ranks. However, it was close on Thursday (March 2nd, 2023) in the men’s team sprint: the German trio were only 1.21 seconds short of bronze. Before that, Felix Rijhnen missed out on the top 10 in the men’s 5,000 meters as eleventh. Michelle Uhrig was 19th in the men’s 3,000 meters as 19th penultimate. In the women’s team sprint, the Germans finished last.
3,000 meters: Wiklund before Olympic champion
The first gold of the title fights in the Dutch speed skating stronghold did not go to the hosts. Norway’s Ragne Wiklund snatched the title over 3,000 meters from local hero and Olympic champion Irene Shouten by 0.54 seconds in 3:56.86 minutes. Third was the 35-year-old Czech speed skating legend Martina Sablikova (+ 1.49 seconds), who already won her 23rd individual distance World Championships medal. The German starter Uhrig from Berlin was 22.29 seconds behind the new world champion.
5,000 meters: Dutchman Roest WINS
Patrick Roest then won the men’s first medal for World Cup hosts. The 27-year-old prevailed in 6:08.94 minutes against Davide Ghiotto from Italy (+ 2.18 seconds) and Bart Swings from Belgium (+ 4.12 seconds). Roest took his sixth World Championships medal and his first individual gold on a single distance. The two-time inline world champion Rijhnen from Darmstadt stayed 16.71 seconds behind the world champion and around 5 seconds behind his season best over 5,000 meters, also set in Heerenveen.
Team sprint: Canada wins – German men in the top 5
Canada won both the women’s and men’s team sprints. However, the German trio of Niklas Kurzmann, Hendrik Dombek and Moritz Klein achieved respectable success in fifth place. In 1:21.01 minutes, the Germans stayed 1.75 seconds behind the world champions and just 1.21 seconds behind the third-placed Norwegians. Silver went to the Netherlands. The German team sprint men were already fifth at the World Cup in Heerenveen in November – but they were a little faster then in 1:20.27.
The women around Katja Franzen, Anna Ostlender, Lea Scholz were seventh and last in 1:31.56 minutes, more than five seconds behind the Canadians.
Germany’s Katja Franzen, Anna Ostlender and Lea Sophie Scholz during the team sprint in Heerenveen.
Pechstein will be at the start on Saturday and Sunday
Record Olympian Claudia Pechstein will not start at her 21st World Championships until Saturday and Sunday in the mass start and over 5000 meters. The 51-year-old, who has collected 30 World Championship medals to date, took part in the premiere of the prestigious competition in 1996.
The German starting field at the World Cup
Women
- Lea Sophie Scholz – 1,000 meters, team pursuit, team sprint
- Anna Ostlender – 1,000 meters, team sprint
- Michelle Uhrig – 1,500 meters, 3,000 meters, mass start, team pursuit
- Claudia Pechstein – 3,000 meters, 5,000 meters, mass start, team pursuit
- Josie Hofmann – 5,000 meters, mass start, team pursuit
- Katja Franzen – Team Sprint
Men
- Moritz Klein – 1,000 meters, 1,500 meters, team sprint
- Hendrik Dombek – 1,000 meters, team sprint
- Stefan Emele – 1,000 meters, 1,500 meters, team sprint
- Felix Rijhnen – 5,000 meters, mass start
- Fridtjof Petzold – 5,000 meters, mass start
- Felix Maly – mass start
- Niklas Kurzmann – Team Sprint