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Sander Eitrem and Ragne Wiklund gave Norway a sweep of the men's and women's world allround titles in speed skating, while Jordan Stolz ended up fourth to complete an unprecedented weekend.
Stolz, the Olympic 500m and 1000m gold medalist, went into the fourth and final race — the grueling 10,000m — of the two-day world allrounds with a tenuous lead.
Eitrem, the Olympic 5000m gold medalist, needed to beat Stolz by 23.7 seconds to overtake the American in Heerenveen, Netherlands.
That was doable. Eitrem skated a 10,000m in Heerenveen in 12:41.34 in December. Stolz, primarily a sprinter, rarely races the 10,000m — his last effort in the 25-lap race was at the 2024 World Allrounds in Inzell, Germany, where he skated 13:04.76.
SPEED SKATING WORLDS: Full Results
What's more, Stolz went into Sunday's 10,000m tired to a certain degree, having raced seven times since Thursday.
He was the only man or woman to compete in both the World Sprint Championships on Thursday and Friday (a 500m and 1000m each day) and the World Allround Championships on Saturday (a 500m and 5000m for the men) and Sunday (a 1500m and 10,000m for the men). No skater had completed that double since the biennial sprint and allround worlds were combined into the same weekend starting in 2020.
Eitrem ended up skating 12:41.27 in Sunday's 10,000m, while Stolz crossed in 13:32.28. Czech Metodej Jilek and Poland's Vladimir Semmirunniy also overtook Stolz in the overall standings combining results in the four races.
The World Allround Championships, while a test of skaters' sprinting and distance abilities, are usually won by distance skaters. That made Stolz's victory in the event in 2024 all the more impressive.
Stolz, who finished second in the sprint worlds on Thursday and Friday to Dutchman Jenning de Boo, nearly became the first man to make the overall podium of sprint worlds and allround worlds in the same year since American Eric Flaim in 1988.
In the women’s competition, Ragne Wiklund became the first Norwegian woman to win allrounds since 1938.
Wiklund, the Olympic 1500m and 3000m silver medalist and 5000m bronze medalist, went into Sunday tied with Miho Takagi of Japan. But Wiklund had the edge in Sunday's longer events as she's a better distance skater than the 10-time Olympic medalist Takagi, who made world allrounds the last competition of her career.
Wiklund had the best time in Sunday's 5000m and third-best time in the 1500m. Takagi was sixth-fastest in the 5000m and second-best in the 1500m. She dropped behind Marijke Groenewoud of the Netherlands for second place.
No American women took part in allrounds.
The World Championships marked the last top-level event of the speed skating season. The annual World Cup season typically starts in November.
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Miho Takagi plans to retire after the final major competition of the 2025-26 speed skating season.
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Stolz, the Olympic 500m and 1000m gold medalist, went into the fourth and final race — the grueling 10,000m — of the two-day world allrounds with a tenuous lead.
Eitrem, the Olympic 5000m gold medalist, needed to beat Stolz by 23.7 seconds to overtake the American in Heerenveen, Netherlands.
That was doable. Eitrem skated a 10,000m in Heerenveen in 12:41.34 in December. Stolz, primarily a sprinter, rarely races the 10,000m — his last effort in the 25-lap race was at the 2024 World Allrounds in Inzell, Germany, where he skated 13:04.76.
SPEED SKATING WORLDS: Full Results
What's more, Stolz went into Sunday's 10,000m tired to a certain degree, having raced seven times since Thursday.
He was the only man or woman to compete in both the World Sprint Championships on Thursday and Friday (a 500m and 1000m each day) and the World Allround Championships on Saturday (a 500m and 5000m for the men) and Sunday (a 1500m and 10,000m for the men). No skater had completed that double since the biennial sprint and allround worlds were combined into the same weekend starting in 2020.
Eitrem ended up skating 12:41.27 in Sunday's 10,000m, while Stolz crossed in 13:32.28. Czech Metodej Jilek and Poland's Vladimir Semmirunniy also overtook Stolz in the overall standings combining results in the four races.
The World Allround Championships, while a test of skaters' sprinting and distance abilities, are usually won by distance skaters. That made Stolz's victory in the event in 2024 all the more impressive.
Stolz, who finished second in the sprint worlds on Thursday and Friday to Dutchman Jenning de Boo, nearly became the first man to make the overall podium of sprint worlds and allround worlds in the same year since American Eric Flaim in 1988.
In the women’s competition, Ragne Wiklund became the first Norwegian woman to win allrounds since 1938.
Wiklund, the Olympic 1500m and 3000m silver medalist and 5000m bronze medalist, went into Sunday tied with Miho Takagi of Japan. But Wiklund had the edge in Sunday's longer events as she's a better distance skater than the 10-time Olympic medalist Takagi, who made world allrounds the last competition of her career.
Wiklund had the best time in Sunday's 5000m and third-best time in the 1500m. Takagi was sixth-fastest in the 5000m and second-best in the 1500m. She dropped behind Marijke Groenewoud of the Netherlands for second place.
No American women took part in allrounds.
The World Championships marked the last top-level event of the speed skating season. The annual World Cup season typically starts in November.
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Miho Takagi sets retirement with second-most Olympic speed skating medals
Miho Takagi plans to retire after the final major competition of the 2025-26 speed skating season.
Continue reading...
