OTTAWA, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands remained unbeaten in women's 1,000m this season after taking her fourth gold in Calgary, Canada on Sunday in as many speed skating World Cups.
With a fastest first full lap, Leerdam clocked one minute and 12.53 seconds for a convincing victory, 0.66 seconds ahead of Olympic champion Miho Tagaki of Japan. Kimi Goetz of the United States took a bronze in 1:13.58.
"I never expected this," Leerdam told the International Skating Union official website. "I was super sick because of my period yesterday, nauseous, feverish, strained. But I thought: forget about it, last week I was seven tenths faster, so maybe I can still win if I feel less strong."
The win streak did not give Leerdam full confidence into next race, but the Olympic silver medalist believed the nervous feeling kept her sharp.
"Every week, I'm stressed. I think: am I good enough? Next week I'll again think that I can't skate at all. That insecurity keeps me sharp," said the 23-year-old.
Jordan Stolz took his second men's 1,000m gold this season with a time of 1:06.72. The 18-year-old American beat Olympic champion Thomas Krol of the Netherlands by 0.44 seconds through a fast sprint to take his third medal over the weekend, following two silvers from 500m and 1,500m.
David Bosa of Italy won the bronze with a personal best of 1:07.24. Hein Otterspeer of the Netherlands finished fourth and overtook Laurent Dubreuil on top of the World Cup rankings, after the Canadian only finished in a disappointing 11th.
In the mass start competitions, Bart Swings of Belgium took the men's gold in 7:33.20, while Irene Schouten of the Netherlands enjoyed her third victory in a row in 8:08.74.
The World Cup series will next move to Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland in February. ■
