Nuis on fire as skating records tumble, Schulting claims world crown

Speed skater Kjeld Nuis smashed two world records at the weekend as Salt Lake City lived up to its reputation as the world’s fastest arena.

The double Olympic champion won the 1000 metres on Saturday at the World Cup finals in a new best time of 1:06.18. Team-mates Thomas Krol and Kai Verbij also dipped under the old record.

On Sunday Nuis clipped 0.85 seconds off the record for 1500 metres as he crossed the line in 1:40.17, ahead of Krol who again set the second-fastest time in history at 1:40.54.

The previous record holder, Denis Yusov, finished in third place, but that still gave him enough points to secure the World Cup title for the third year in a row.

Yusov’s team-mate Pavel Kuzilnikhov also entered the record books as he won the 500 metres on Saturday in a time of 33.61 seconds.

Meanwhile, Suzanne Schulting claimed the world short-track allround title for the first time in dramatic fashion, overtaking South Korean Choi Min-yeong on the last lap of the final race.

Schulting also took the world title in her strongest event, the 1000 metres, at the event in Sofia, Bulgaria. Earlier she took bronze in the 500 metres, but was controversially disqualified in the semi-finals of the 1500 metres after judges ruled she had pushed an opponent.