OTTAWA, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- World record holder Miho Tagaki of Japan shook off fatigue to win her third World Cup women's 1,500m gold this season at the fourth stop in Calgary, Canada on Saturday.
Having competed in the 500m and 5,000m events on Friday, Tagaki clocked one minute and 52.08 seconds to take the back-to-back title in Calgary while consolidating her lead on the World Cup rankings.
"I wasn't able to make speed today. I think because of the 5,000m," Tagaki, the Olympic 1,000m champion at Beijing 2022, was quoted as saying by the International Skating Union official website.
Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong of the Netherlands got the silver in 1:52.70 and Nadezhda Morozova of Kazakhstan took the bronze in 1:53.03.
"She [Morozova] skated in front of me, so I got a chance to chase her from 700m to 1,100m, so that helped me a lot. And then I was able to keep my pace in the final lap," the 28-year-old Tagaki said.
The Japanese elite did not hide her disappointment at the 5,000m race, but noted she wouldn't compete in the event again at the World Single Distance Championships.
"I wanted to set the new [Japanese 5,000m] national record [Eriko Ishino skated 6:55.07 in 2011], but it's so fast. And after the race, I saw my time and it was 7:00.08, I was so disappointed. Also my last lap my speed goes down a lot. That's my weak point."
In the men's 500m, Kim Jun-ho won his first World Cup gold of the season in a personal best of 34.07 seconds, edging American teenager Jordan Stolz by 0.01 seconds. Home favorite Laurent Dubreuil bagged a bronze in 34.10, which was enough to keep him on top of the World Cup rankings.
Dubreuil, the Olympic 1,000m silver medalist, also set his eyes on the 1,000m World Cup title.
"One of the big goals of this season for me was to win the overall [in 500m] again, and to win the overall in the 1,000m as well, which I've never done," said Dubreuil, who was only seven points ahead of Hein Otterspeer of the Netherlands in the 1,000m rankings.
In the only men's 10,000m race in the World Cup this season, Olympic bronze medalist Davide Ghiotto of Italy finished in 12:45.10 for the gold medal, followed by Dutch trio of Patrick Roest (12:51.50), Beau Snellink (12:51.50) and Kars Jansman (12:58.77).
The women's team sprint gold went to the United States with a time of 1:25.68, 0.05 seconds faster than Canada. The Netherlands took bronze in 1:25.95.
The World Cup in Calgary will conclude on Sunday with the men's and women's 1,000m and mass start medals on offer. ■
