World Speed Skating Championships 2013: Day 5 review

Francesca Lollabrigida was victorious in the women’s senior race

Colombia’s reign continued on day 5 of the 2013 World Speed Skating Championships

The morning’s events consisted only of the senior 500m heats. The only shocking thing that happened was that Ioseba Fernandez, the wonderful Spanish sprinter, failed to qualify for the finals.

The first final of the day was the 20,000m elimination races for the junior women. The USA, Belgium, Colombia and Italy were in front of the pack the entire time. As the race wore on, fatigue kicked in, and falls at the turns started happening more frequently. At the end it was the two Colombians, who crossed the line first and second. Sandrine Tas of Belgium finished in third place. However, due to the disqualification of one of the Colombians, Darian O’Neil of USA won the bronze and Sandrine won silver for Belgium. Incidentally, the best Indian performance happened in this race, with K. Aarathy finishing a creditable 15th.

The junior men’s race was a little different. Positions kept changing and there were lots of very close eliminations. There were strong performances from Denmark, Mexico and New Zealand. However at the end it was again the two Colombians who emerged victorious. They ran their usual play of having one sprint off in the final laps, while the other one holds the rest of the pack back. Once the first skater is safe, the second one starts sprinting, typically earning the silver. Today, Boris Pena finished in first place, Alex Cujavante in second and Italy’s Daniel Niero in third.

The first half of the senior women’s race was uneventful with no eliminations. The first sign of action happened when Elma DeVries tried to catch up with the main pack after her fall, only to be eliminated a few metres behind the bunch. The female Bart Swings of the tournament, Francesca Lollabrigida captured her third gold medal as Guo of China won the silver and Sindy Cortez of Venezuela won the bronze.

The senior men’s race saw a lot of technical moves being used. The photo finish camera was used extensively to determine who was eliminated as the men tried their hardest to stay in the race. Alex Contin of France managed to finish the race first ahead of Lorenzo Cassiolo and Fabio Francolini. However, due to a protest lodged, the results are still uncertain.

The last events of the day were the two senior 500m races. The senior women’s race saw a familiar ending; Yersey Puello took the lead from the beginning winning gold. Mannon Kamminga made a surprise entry into the top 3 by moving from 4th to 2nd in the last turn, forcing Erika Zanetti to settle for the bronze.

The senior men’s race too had a predictable end. Columbia’s Arce Sebastian took the lead and was protected the entire race by Andres Felipe Munoz. They crossed the line in the same order with France’s Lepivert completing the podium with the bronze.

Tomorrow’s events also promise great excitement with the junior 500m races and road 5000m relay scheduled.

You can also read up on our exclusive interview with Colombian multiple-world champion Pedro Causil here.