Web Desk(December 11, 2017): Japan’s Nao Kodaira and Canada’s Ted-Jan Bloemen set world records on the final day of the World Cup speedskating event at the Utah Olympic Oval.
Kodaira finished in 1 minute, 12.09 seconds in the women’s 1,000 meters, her third race victory in three days. American Brittany Bowe held the previous record of 1:12.18. Japan’s Miho Takagi was second in 1:12.63, and Russia’s Yekaterina Shikhova followed in 1:13.23.Bloemen finished in 6:01.86 in the men’s 5,000. Dutch skater Sven Kramer held the previous record of 6:03.32. Germany’s Patrick Beckert was second in 6.07.02, and countryman Moritz Geisreiter followed in 6:07.31.Bowe improved on a pair of 13th-place finishes in the 500s. She finished in 1:13.55 to place sixth in the 1,000.
Russia’s Denis Yuskov won the men’s 1,000 in 1:06.92. Yuskov edged Dutchman skater Koen Verweij, who finished in 106.94. Russia’s Pavel Kulizhnikov followed in 1:06.96.
Jonathan Garcia was the top American. Garcia was seventh with a personal best of 1:07.40. Joey Mantia was 10th, and Shani Davis 12th.Garcia came into the race with the goal of producing a top six finish. He said his performance was about 90 percent of where he wants to be, but feels like he is on an upward trend ahead of the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.Russia’s Natalia Voronina took the women’s 3,000 in 3:57.70. The Czech Republic’s Martina Sablikova was second in 3:57.84, and Germany’s Claudia Pechstein finished third in 3:58.69.
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