AMPIrene Schouten
NOS Schaatsen•vandaag, 21:28
Irene Schouten has won the world title in the 3,000 meters for the first time in her career. In Calgary, Canada, she was almost a second faster than Canadian Isabelle Weidemann, who surprisingly skated to silver. The bronze went to six-time world champion Martina Sáblíková from the Czech Republic.
Marijke Groenewoud finished just off the podium.
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The 31-year-old Schouten became Olympic champion in the 3,000 meters two years ago, but a world title in the three kilometers was still missing from her impressive record. A year ago she lost at the World Cup in a full Thialf to the Norwegian Ragne Wiklund, who won the first three World Cups this season.
Competition from Canada
In Calgary, Wiklund, who was ill in the run-up to the important tournament, was unable to offer a match to her competitors from the Netherlands. This time the biggest opposition appeared to come from Canadian home rider Weidemann.
Weidemann, who won bronze at the last Winter Games, set a strong time (3.58.01) in stage four.
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After her race, Canadian Weidemann did not think it would be enough for the podium, but when she saw that title holder Wiklund and record winner Sáblíková (36) did not meet her time, a medal became more realistic.
Especially when European champion Groenewoud also gave in too much to the tight schedule at the end of her race. With 3.59.81, Groenewoud had to settle for fourth place.
Aggressive start
Schouten rode against Canadian Valerie Maltais in the last stage, so she knew exactly what time she had to drive for gold. After an aggressive start she took a margin over Weidemann. In the last laps she had to go deep, but she did not give away her lead. With 3.57.10 the difference with Weidemann was ultimately clear: 0.91 seconds.
Elisa Dul rode to 4.06.54 on her World Cup debut and finished eleventh.
2024-02-15 20:28:43
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