Dutch men complete clean sweep at world speed skating championships

DutchNews, February 12, 2017

Kjeld Nuis wins gold and Sven Kramer bronze in the 1,500 metres.
Photo: Soenar Chamid VI via HH

The Dutch men’s team completed their run at the four-day world speed skating championships in South Korea with another gold medal for Kjeld Nuis, this time in the 1,500 metres. 

Nuis’s second title of the competition gave the Dutch men a clean sweep across the individual distances, with gold in the 500, 1,000, 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 metre events and the team pursuit title. 

The Dutch, however, failed to win any medals in the mass start, an event in which 24 skaters race around the 400 metre oval for 16 laps and which involves some physical contact. 

The women’s team took two golds – Ireen Wüst in the 3,000 metres and the team pursuit. Wüst took silver in the 1,500 metres on Sunday, missing out on the title by a fraction to Heather Bergsma of the US. 

In total, the Dutch team came away with eight gold, three silver and four bronze medals from the 14 races.