Dutch take world allround skating titles

Sven Kramer and Ireen Wüst took the men’s and women’s world allround speed skating titles at the World Championships in Heerenveen on Sunday. The 20-year-old Frisian Kramer beat his Italian rival Enrico Fabris by a wide margin in the 10km to take the title and a new world record.


He completed the distance in 12 minutes, 49.88 seconds, beating his old world record of 12 minutes, 51.60 seconds. Fabris took silver and Dutchman Carl Verheijen, who finished second in the 10 km, the bronze.
‘To end the competition with a world record is really great,’ said Kramer, who is the 16th Dutchman to take the allround title.
In the women’s competition Ireen Wüst, 20, took her first world title after finishing second to Anni Friesinger of Germany in the world sprint title earlier this year. This time, fortunes were reversed, with Wüst taking the crown, Friesinger second place and Cindy Klassen of Canada third. ‘The public gave me wings,’ said Wüst. ‘At the start of the 5km I knew it was feeling good. World champion, it sounds great.’
The last time the Netherlands took both the men’s and women’s allround titles was in 1972.
The men’s competition involves races of 500m, 1,500m, 5km and 10km, the women’s 500m, 1,500m, 3km and 5km.
For more results, click here

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