World Speed Skating Championships 2013: Day 6 - the last day of individual events

Pedro Causil (File Photo)

There were only two individual races today before the road relay events began. The junior girls were the first to race. The girls on the line were Linda Rossi of Italy, Magda Yuliana Garces of Colombia, Stephanie Hurtado of Colombia and Jenny Peissker of Germany. After the first turn, it seemed clear that Linda Rossi was in control. Although, the Colombians tried very hard and came at her from both sides, they just couldn’t seem to pass her. When they crossed the line, it seemed like the Italian couldn’t believe that she had won the gold. This was the first gold won by a non-Colombian amongst the junior girls. So it was Magda Yuliana with the silver and Stephanie Hurtado with the bronze.

The junior boys race was the most controversial with maximum disqualifications. A mix-up at the start between Colombia’s Estrada and Germany’s Simon Albrecht caused the latter to fall, prompting the disqualification of the Colombian. The race was restarted but another questionable move by the German caused him to be disqualified as well. After all of this drama, Colombia’s Andres Felipe Campo crossed the line first with France’s Planelles winning the silver.

After a short break, the relay finals began. First up as usual were the junior women. The race was slow because none of the girls wanted to tire themselves out for the final sprints. After two rotations, things began to heat up. Just as the Colombians began sprinting, one of the Italians had a fall which effectively removed them from medal contention. When the bell indicating the last lap rang, it was the Colombians in the lead followed closely by the Chinese Taipei team. At the end, the Colombians had another gold to add to their impressive total and the Taiwanese won the silver for their country. It was the team from Germany that took home the bronze.

The junior men’s race was close. The Colombians came in determined to win, but the Venezuelans came in confident from their track relay gold medal. When the last rotation began, the Colombians took off closely followed by Venezuela. These two teams had a huge lead over the other teams. However by the last lap, the other teams caught up. The finishing was close but the Colombians emerged triumphant winning gold. Venezuela had to be satisfied with a great performance and the silver medal. Italy’s team captured the bronze.

The senior women’s relay was pretty exciting. The race began slowly but the pace was increased by the girls from Chinese Taipei, who looked effortless while making all the other teams work to stay with them. In a race in which the Colombian team failed to qualify, the Chinese Taipei team was the favourite to win and they did not disappoint. They won the race with relative ease. China managed to win silver while the team from the Netherlands captured the bronze.

The senior men’s race had a predictable end. When you have three of the fastest sprinters in the world, two of whom already have gold medals, you are almost sure to win the relay. Yes, I’m describing the Colombian senior men’s relay team. The race’s pace was controlled almost the whole time by the Colombian team. In the last rotation, Pedro Causil began the sprint with 2.5 laps to go. He gained a slight lead over the other teams by the time he tagged Andres Munoz who would finish the race for them. Munoz slowed down the pace slightly preparing for the final sprint. That final sprint really was something to marvel at. Colombia won the relay comfortably with Italy in second place. France’s team completed the podium with the bronze.

With only the marathons left, Colombia lead the medal tally by a huge margin with 31 golds, 17 silvers and 2 bronzes. In second place is Italy with 4 golds, 6 silvers and 10 bronzes and in third place is Belgium with 4 golds, 2 silvers and 2 bronzes.

Tomorrow’s 42 km marathons promise to be action packed. Hopefully, we will see some good racing tomorrow, the last day of the 2013 World Championships.