Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands competes during the women's 1,000m final at the ISU World Speed Skating Championships in Heerenveen, the Netherlands, March 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)
Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands claimed the women's 1,000m title to achieve a perfect record over the distance this season, while American teen Jordan Stolz won his second gold at the ISU World Speed Skating Championships from men's 1,000m.
THE HAGUE, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Jutta Leerdam delighted the home crowd in Heerenveen by winning the women's 1,000 meter speed skating at the World Single Distance Championships on Saturday, while 18-year-old Jordan Stolz won gold in the same event for men.
The 24-year-old Dutch skating star, Leerdam, almost felt obliged to win at the legendary Thialf Stadium as she had won all eight of her 1,000m races this season. She dealt with this pressure and won in 1:13.03 ahead of compatriot Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong (1:14.26) and Olympic champion Miho Takagi from Japan (1:14.37).
"I cannot be happier," Leerdam said afterwards to Dutch national broadcaster NOS. "This season was 100 percent, perfect. There was so much pressure today. Everybody asked me to win today and I did. It was a mental victory."
Jordan Stolz of the United States celebrates after the men's 1,000m final at the ISU World Speed Skating Championships in Heerenveen, the Netherlands, March 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)
Stolz from the United States, who won the 500m and became the youngest world single distance champion on Friday, grabbed gold in the men's 1,000m on Saturday. He won in a time of 1:07.11, ahead of Olympic champion Thomas Krol from the Netherlands (1:07.78), Cornelius Kersten from Britain (1:08.02) and another Dutchman Kjeld Nuis (1:08.10).
For Kersten, it was an historic bronze medal, the first medal for Britain in international speed skating since Johnny Cronshey's silver at the World Allround Championships in 1951.
Belgian Bart Swings won the men's mass start, beating Dutchman Bart Hoolwerf and Andrea Giovannini from Italy. Dutch skater Marijke Groenewoud sealed the victory in the women's mass start, ahead of Ivanie Blondin from Canada and her compatriot Irene Schouten, with Yang Binyu from China finishing seventh.
On the fourth and final day of the World Single Distance Championships on Sunday, both male and female skaters will contest in the 1,500m, while the event closes off with the 10,000m for men and the 5000m for women. ■
