the World Allround Championships
Irene Schouten made an excellent start on Saturday at the World Allround Championships in Hamar, Norway. The three-time Olympic champion dived well below her personal best in the 500 meters.
The 29-year-old Schouten clocked the seventh time at her worst distance with 39.24 seconds. This made Andijkse, who won gold at the Olympic Games in Beijing last month in the 3,000 meters, the 5,000 meters and the mass start, 49 hundredths faster than her personal best.
With her time, Schouten gave almost a second to Miho Takagi, who set the fastest time with 38.31. The Japanese, who became world champion in 2018, stayed ahead of her compatriot Ayano Sato (38.49) and Kazakh Nadezhda Morozova (38.59) in the Vikingskipet.
The World Allround Championships
Antoinette de Jong opened the tournament with the fifth fastest time in the 500 meters. At 38.81, the two-time European all-round champion was half a second slower than Takagi.
Merel Conijn, the third Dutch participant in Hamar, came in eleventh time with 39.68.
The twenty-year-old Edam makes her debut at a World Championship all-round.
Defending champion Ireen Wüst is not participating in the World Allround Championships.
The Russian and Belarusian skaters are also missing, because they are not allowed to participate in the International Skating Union (ISU) because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Later in the day, the women will ride the 3,000 meters. The 1,500 meters and the closing 5,000 meters are on the program on Sunday.
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