Dutch speed skaters made a big splash in the opening weekend of the Essent ISU World Cup Speed Skating in Chelyabinsk, Russia with four individual golds and gold in the men’s team pursuit.

Stefan Groothuis took gold in the 1,000 metres, beating fellow Dutchman Kjeld Nuis by 0.07 of a second. Groothuis also took gold in the 1,500 metres.
In the 5,000 metres, Jorrit Bergsma took gold, beating Sven Kramer into second place. The event marked Kramer’s return to international competition after a year out through injury. Bob de Jong completed the Dutch 1,2,3 by taking bronze.
Ireen Wust beat Canada’s Christine Nesbitt to take the women’s 1,500 gold while Marrit Leenstra took bronze. Wust also won silver in the 3,000 metres on Friday.

Six events

In total, the Dutch team picked up 15 medals.
The ISU competition runs over the entire season. There is a total of six events, with the final one taking place in Berlin in March. The final ranking is decided by the accumulated points per skater at all the events.
Groothuis is currently World Cup title holder in the 1,000 metres, while De Jong is 5,000 metres champion. The Dutch women hold the World Cup team pursuit title.
For the full results, click here