With the speed skating season now in full swing, Dutchman Sven Kramer has taken the all-round title at the ISU European Championships in Collabo, Italy, beating defending champion Enrico Fabris. Fellow Dutchman Carl Verheijen was second; Fabris had to settle for bronze.

Kramer, who is just 20, set a championship record with his points total. At 13:10:44, his 10,000 metres was the fastest time ever skated outdoors – and 11 seconds ahead of arch rival Fabris.
The men’s all-round title consists of races at 500m, 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m.
In the women’s championships, the Netherlands’ Ireen Wüst was one of the favourites – and took both the 500m and the 1,500m. Third in the 3,000m, Wüst started too fast in the final 5,000m, according to some commentators. The gold medal in the all-round event went to the Czech Republic’s Martina Sábliková who completed the 5000m in a record 6:58:45. Wüst took silver.
‘I don’t know what I would have done differently,’ Wüst told reporters afterwards. ‘I can only say I did my best.’
The World All-Round Speed Skating Championships will take place in Heerenveen in the Netherlands on February 9-11.