Irene Schouten was very disappointed with the 3,000m World Cup in Calgary on Friday. The defending Olympic champion was stuck in seventh place in the Olympic Oval.
Thirty-year-old Schouten never entered her race and clocked a disappointing 4.02.86 on the fast ice track. With that, there were almost six seconds to go to victory, which went to the Norwegian Ragne Wiklund.
It is unclear how Schouten has managed to fall back so far. Three weeks ago, Andijkse was by far the best of Thialf. Then he won with a new track record, leaving the competition behind.
For Wiklund it is his second World Cup victory. The Norwegian, who finished fifth at the Beijing Olympics earlier this year, also triumphed in Stavanger and then finished third in Heerenveen.
Behind Wiklund, Marijke Groenewoud finished second with a new personal best. Team Albert Heijn Zaanlander’s driver set a time of 3.58.89, which made her a full four seconds faster than she had ever been (4.02.72).
Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong completed the podium finishing third with 3:59.31. Joy Beune finished fifth (4:01.41) and Merel Conijn was the worst Dutch with a twelfth place (4:06.69).
Leerdam and Kok fail at 500 meters
Earlier in the day, Jutta Leerdam and Femke Kok missed out on victory in the 500m in Calgary. Leerdam and Kok both set times of 37.35 seconds at the Olympic Oval in Calgary. Leerdam turned out to be two thousandths faster than her compatriot and thus finished third.
The Dutch times were nowhere near enough for the win, which once again went to the South Korean Min-Sun Kim. The South Korean was the only one to drop below 37 seconds and at 36.97. Vanessa Herzog was second in 37.26.
Kim was also the best in the 500m in Heerenveen and Stavanger, where the previous two World Cup races were held. The 23-year-old figure skater is having her big breakthrough this season.
The other Dutchmen in the 500 meters played a supporting role. Marrit Fledderus finished seventh with a new personal best (37.51), Dione Voskamp finished ninth (37.57) and Michelle de Jong had to settle for tenth place (37.69).
