Skating rarely presents doping scandals. The most famous of the recent cases is Claudia Pechstein, who also performed in Kolomna. The legendary German woman was suspended from the Vancouver Olympics due to a hereditary blood disease, but then ISU officials admitted that it was their mistake, after which Claudia began to sue the international federation. There was also the disqualification of Denis Yuskov for marijuana, which was based on letters from colleagues on the national team and was canceled after a change in the leadership of the TFR. A bolt from the blue in early March was a series of news that many Russian athletes were caught using mildronate, which was banned on January 1: Maria Sharapova, Ekaterina Bobrova, Alexander Markin, Semyon Elistratov, Pavel Kulizhnikov and many others. Often, athletes represented those sports where the use of doping does not provide a clear advantage (for example, volleyball), as in cyclic athletics or ski racing. It is still unclear how the story with Kulizhnikov will end, but reasonable people understand that speed skating is quite clean and the victories of Russian athletes do not have the nature of purposeful doping. All the more surprising is the position of the leadership of the TFR, which made complete fools of itself by coming up with ridiculous conspiracies. If Alexey Kravtsov were a normal leader, he would have resigned long ago for the complete collapse of his work (medicine + personnel policy in the national short track and speed skating teams + PR). And so the whole positive effect from the Kolomna World Championship was destroyed.
01. Opening.
There are three world championships in speed skating - at individual distances, classic and. The first is considered the most prestigious, since it completely repeats the program of the Olympic Games, where the all-around is not represented. The World Championships at selected distances have been held annually since 1996, with the exception, for obvious reasons, of the Olympic seasons. For Russia, the tournament in Kolomna was the second after the pre-Olympic test championship in Sochi in 2013.
At the tournament in Kolomna, 14 sets of medals were played: these are 10 usual distances (men - 500, 1000, 1500, 5000 and 10,000 meters; women - 500, 1000, 1500, 3000 and 5000 meters), as well as team races and mass starts . All this was more or less evenly distributed over four days. A total of 161 participants from 24 countries competed. The Russian team was represented by 19 people (11 men and 8 women). There are many world champions and the International Skating Union plans to annually alternate tournaments at individual distances and all-around (sprint and classic, combining them into one), adding a distance European Championship. This, however, is a very questionable decision. IN figure skating there is a championship four continents, not inferior to the championship of the Old World, but then what should athletes from the USA, Canada, Japan, Korea and China do?
03. Head coach Russian national team Konstantin Poltavets.
A year ago it took place in Moscow. This is a more dynamic view, although less objective. In speed skating, you only compete with yourself and a stopwatch. That's what makes him so wonderful! What you are ready for is how much you run. Just a gift for coaches - the result is in the palm of your hand. No judges, pushes or other factors. Running disciplines athletics more subjective, because There can be wind there, and a lot depends on the track (in skating this is true at 500 meters), and on the competitors in the race. There are also more leaders in long skates. In short track speed skating everyone runs the same distances, but here there is a division into sprinters, stayers and middle distance specialists.
04. Skating center "Kolomna" from the inside.
Major speed skating competitions are about the struggle and victories of outstanding athletes. The Dutch triumphed in Kolomna, winning two distances each. Sven Kramer(5000 and 10,000) and Jorin Ter Mors(1000 and 1500), Russian Pavel Kulizhnikov(500 and 1000) and Czech Martina Sablikova(3000 and 5000). Significant victories won Denis Yuskov(1500) and Korean Lee Sang Hwa(500). For the first time in history, a double was made in the sprint - previously, at the same championship, an athlete had not won both distances (500 and 1000 meters). Sven Kramer became a 23-time world champion and such an achievement is beyond belief. In gymnastics, athletes are less titled. Full results are available on the official tournament page.
Short track is the domain of the Koreans, and in classic speed skating the Dutch are the leaders. Everyone remembers how at the Sochi Olympics the Netherlands were in the leading group medal count. Except for one bronze medal, all medals were won by speed skaters from the country of tulips (8-7-8). Speed skating is a cult sport in the Netherlands. At competitions there full stands, most of the sponsors in the skating world are Dutch, and canal skating is a popular winter pastime. The dominance of Dutch athletes is hardly irritating. Firstly, they do not win at all distances. Secondly, they behave quite adequately.
Russia has only three (or rather, three) indoor skating centers - in Moscow, Chelyabinsk and Kolomna. The palace appeared in the Moscow region in 2006 and since then it has hosted the European Championship (2008), three stages of the World Cup, and also hosts most major all-Russian competitions. Kolomna is famous for its... By and large, apart from the Kremlin and the skating center located next to it, there is nothing else interesting in the city. And the city doesn’t have any smart leaders either. During the World Cup, it then sank, after which it gave residents and guests the opportunity to slide on the ice anywhere in the city. International competitions should be held in Russia, but first it would be worth bringing the cities into some order.
07. Arena outside.
The ticket program, as often happens, was not completely clear. Tickets seemed not to be on sale long before the start of the competition, but they were calmly distributed to those who hurried forward and knew how to get them. On Thursday and Friday, the six-thousand-capacity stands were not completely filled, and on two days off they were packed only at the Kulizhnikov races, after which they promptly emptied.
Speed skating ( speed running skating) - olympic event a sport in which you need to cover a certain distance on skates faster than your opponents. Currently, speed skating competitions are held in vicious circle. Speed skating competitions are held separately for men and women.
History of the emergence and development of speed skating
Speed skating is one of the most ancient sports. Archaeological finds indicate that people used prototypes of skates more than 3,000 years ago. For the first time in literature, skating was mentioned by the monk Stephanius in his work “Chronicle of the Noble City of London” in 1174.
In 1742, the first skating clubs began to appear in Scotland.
In 1763, the first ice skating competitions were officially recorded, but at that time there were no clearly defined rules and these were simply races.
In 1772, the first rules for speed skating appeared.
Since 1830, skating clubs began to appear in England, America and Russia. In 1879, the first national championship was organized in England.
In 1889, the first world ice skating championships took place in the Netherlands. The winner was Russian athlete Alexander Panshin.
In 1892, the International Skating Union (International Skating Federation) was founded, which awarded the 1889 competition the status of professional and similar competitions began to be held annually. The International Skating Union organizes and conducts speed skating competitions.
European Championships for men began to be held in 1893, and for women in 1970.
Speed skating has been part of the Winter Olympics since its inception. Initially, the races were held at four distances - 500, 1500, 5000, 10000 meters and all-around.
In 1967, the International Skating Union adopted short track speed skating under its auspices, competitions for which began to be held in 1981. In 1992, short track speed skating was included in the Olympic Games program.
Speed skating rules
At competitions, athletes run in pairs counterclockwise. At the start, one athlete is on the outer lane and the other on the inner lane, and after each lap the skaters are required to change lanes. When changing lanes, there are situations when athletes find themselves on a straight line next to each other. If this happens, the athlete on the inner track must let the runner on the outer track pass. Failure to comply with this rule will result in disqualification. Team races and mass starts take place exclusively on the internal track.
In short track speed skating, athletes also move counterclockwise, but up to six athletes can take part in a race. Skaters are prohibited from interfering with or helping other participants in any way, as well as knocking down the markers that limit the track and putting their foot forward at the finish line, tearing the skate off the ice.
Speed skating track
The speed skating track is an oval 400 or, much less frequently, 333 meters long. The internal turning radius is 25-26 meters. The straight sections of the route are approximately 100 meters long.
The speed skating track has two tracks (inner and outer). One of the straight sections is a transition section for athletes; in this section, tracks change on each lap.
The short track track is 111.12 meters long, the radius of turns is 8 meters, and the distance between curves is 28.85 meters. Typically, a short track track is marked on a hockey field.
Speed skating equipment
For speed skating, special klap skates (klap skate) were invented - special skates for classical running. The blade on such skates is fixed with a special spring hinge and only on the front part of the boot. This is done specifically to increase the repulsion phase, and, therefore, allows you to achieve higher speeds.
A speed skating suit (suit) must follow the natural shape of the athlete’s body. Inserts or elements that change the shape of the body are prohibited. To protect against injury, athletes may wear shin, ankle, and knee protection under their overalls.
A protective helmet in speed skating must follow the shape of the head.
In short track speed skating, athletes additionally wear goggles, gloves, knee pads, and neck protection.
Judging
Included panel of judges international competitions include:
- referee;
- assistant referees;
- starters with assistants;
- finish judge;
- timekeepers (manual timing);
- timekeepers (automatic timing);
- lap counters;
- track judges - one at each turn (at championships International Union speed skaters and at the Olympic Games - 2 on each turn);
- crossing judge;
- necessary substitutes for judges;
- ice technical expert.
Speed skating competition
- Olympic Games- the most prestigious championship in speed skating, held once every four years.
- World Speed Skating Championships (WCH) - a series of sports international competitions, conducted by the International Skating Union.
- European Speed Skating Championships.
- World Cup - winter series sports competitions in speed skating, held under the auspices of the International Skating Federation.
- National Championships.
GANGNEUNG ( South Korea), February 12 - R-Sport, Veronika Gibadieva. Russian speed skaters won three medals at the World Single Distance Championships, which ended in Gangneung, South Korea.
The winners of the tournament, which took place at Olympic skating rink Games 2018, Denis Yuskov (silver, 1500 m) and Ruslan Murashov (bronze, 500 m), as well as Natalya Voronina, Olga Graf and Ekaterina Shikhova, won bronze in the team race.
Sprint
At the current World Championships, for the first time, medals in the 500 m distance were awarded based on the results of one race, and not two, as was the case before. “Initially I was against this idea,” recalled the coach of Russian sprinters Dmitry Dorofeev. There was no one to defend the title - the current world champion Pavel Kulizhnikov remained in Russia and is working on his recovery from injury. But the Russian team included the World Cup leader at this distance, Ruslan Murashov, who, as he himself admitted, immediately realized how unlucky he was with the draw.
Silver and two bronzes for the Russian Federation: results of the World Speed Skating Championships at selected distances >>>
Murashov was let down by his first step. “I seemed to accelerate well, but I expected more, there was a failure in the first step. I worked on the mistakes, changed the position a little, it’s still unusual. All this had an effect,” he noted.
Murashov eventually became third, and Dutchman Jan Smekens won gold for the first time in his career. In the women's sprint, the Russians remained out of the fight for medals, and the entire 500 m podium was occupied by Asian representatives - Nao Kodaira (Japan), Lee Sang Hwa (South Korea) and Yu Jing (China), respectively. Olympic medalist in this type of program Olga Fatkulina became 12th. “I’m thinking about what I did wrong. I don’t understand yet, I’m going through this whole situation inside myself. I can’t yet find an excuse for running on the 500,” she said.
Length and command
On long distances In the Russian team, the closest to the podium was Anna Yurakova, who had already stood on the podium at the World Cup this season. At a distance of 5000 meters in Gangneung, she came fourth, 0.13 seconds behind the podium. “At such a distance, this gap cannot even be called a loss. She’s done well, this is a good result a year before the Games,” Alexey Kravtsov, president of the Russian Skating Union (SKR), praised her performance.
But the Russians “ran” to bronze in the team race. At the same time, the team debuted at the World Championships with a new lineup. "Katya Shikhova is with us last time She ran the team race in the World Cup final, but she was just getting into shape after missing the post-Olympic season,” said coach Pavel Abratkevich.
“We were very excited about this team race, especially since the competition is much higher now. It feels like everyone is getting ready for the Olympics, because there are fewer participants here and it seems like the medal might be closer. In this regard, of course, it is important to show good results at a distance of 3000 m. We have a reserve, and we will work on it,” promised Olga Graf, bronze medalist of the 2014 Games in this type of program.
Silver by Yuskov, golden double by Kramer and Bergsma
On the last day of the competition, the team counted, first of all, on three-time world champion at 1500 m Denis Yuskov, who won silver for the team at this distance. Yuskov lost to the Dutchman Kjeld Neis, with whom he ran in the same pair.
“This was my best lorry of the season in all respects. In terms of acceleration, and in the first lap, and in the second, everything was fine, and the third was also good. Kjeld was simply faster today. I would say that it wasn’t me who lost today , and Kjeld won. On the other hand, this result is a very, very good motivation for next year before the Olympics. This season I won the World Cup once, and then there were no surprises for Kjeld. Of course, I really wanted to win the fourth title in a row in the lorry, but the series was interrupted,” Yuskov said after the finish.
“Well, the Dutch, they just made a little mistake this season, well, I hope,” Yuskov added, hinting at statistics according to which the “orange” in Gangneung held their most successful world championship at individual distances in their entire history in terms of the number of victories.
Two of the eight Dutch gold medals belong to Sven Kramer, who won the 5000 m and 10,000 m. In the “ten”, ahead of Jorrit Bergsma, Kramer was close to the world record, but even on the first day of the competition he noted that he felt the wind at his back , and this could affect the result, especially the “length”. The Dutch also won both team races, and Kjeld Neis, who had never previously won at the World Championships at individual distances, except for the one-and-a-half, won the 1000 m. In addition, the Dutch have Irene Wüst’s victory in the 3000 m. “I hope that next year I will return home from Gangneung with the same medal,” she admitted.
There was a lot of interesting things in Gangneung: Czech Martina Sablikova won the ninth gold medal at individual distances in her career, 44-year-old German Claudia Pechstein won the 30th medal, and does not intend to stop there. New Zealanders reached the podium twice, and Heather Bergsma became the first speed skater in history to win gold in the 500m, 1000m and 1500m events in her career.
Everyone was pleased that the ice at the skating rink was fast - the quality was closer to Calgary than to Seoul. And in general, everything at the Olympic arena of the 2018 Games went at a decent level.
“We can say that the arena is 90% ready to host the Olympic Games,” German Panov, an honorary member of the International Skating Union, told the R-Sport agency. “Of course, a number of other points will be worked out for the Olympics. We will once again express all our wishes to the organizers. Additionally, we will come here with an inspection in May, then again on August 28, to test all the technologies again."
Well, then the Olympics are just around the corner.
The 112th World Speed Skating Championships in classic all-around among men and the 76th among women will be held on March 9-11, 2018 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 24 athletes will take part in the competition in the men's and women's parts of the program. The final distance will be attended by 8 athletes each for men and women, who will be selected from the first 16 athletes based on the results of three distances. The selection will be carried out according to two lists: based on the results of performance at a distance of 5000 meters (3000 m for women) and based on the results of three distances. Participants who take places from first to eighth in both lists qualify directly.
This year is one of the oldest sports tournaments planet the ISU World Speed Skating Championships returns to its birthplace. Dutchman Jaap Eden won the first official championship World Speed Skating Championships in Amsterdam 125 years ago. In 1893 the tournament took place on Museum Square, this year it will take place on Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam, where the 1928 Games were held. This will be the first world speed skating championship since 2001 to be held on outdoors. Sven Kramer will be aiming for a record tenth title, while Irene Wüst is aiming to win her seventh championship.
For the World Cup, a temporary artificial ice skating rink called The Coolste Baan van Nederland was created at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam. Four years ago, the stadium already experimented with an ice track when the stadium hosted the national championship. Bert Bomsma, Ice Meister of the famous Thialf, also prepared ice for Amsterdam. The outdoor championship is a more difficult challenge for both the Ice Meister and the skaters due to the uncertain and constantly changing weather conditions. 17 years ago in Budapest, at the last world championship on an outdoor skating rink, the title was won by the legendary Rintje Rijtsma (Netherlands) and Anni Frisinger (Germany). This time four-time champion World Riitsma is the tournament director.
Participants
Despite Kramer's dominance at every major event over the last decade, the Dutch record holder will face stiff competition in defending his title. Sverre Lunde Pedersen, who showed outstanding form when he carried Norway to the gold medal in the team race in Pyeongchang, could give speed skating a new boost in Norway if he becomes Norway's first absolute champion in the classical all-around after Johan-Olav Koss in 1994. Howard Becko, who found a second wind and an Olympic title in Pyeongchang, and already has four World Cup silver medals to his name, should also not be discounted prematurely. In addition to the Norwegians, Canada's Ted-Jan Bloemen will also be targeting a place on the podium. He knows how to beat Kramer, winning Olympic gold in the ten. The new generation of Dutchmen must also demonstrate their potential: Patrick Rust and Marcel Bosker.
The Russian national team is represented by Sergei Trofimov, Sergei Gryaztsov and Danila Semerikov.
In the women's part of the competition, competition between veterans in the person of Irene Wüst, Martina Sablikova and the new wave, represented by Miho Takagi and Antoinette de Jong, is expected. While Wüst is a 6-time world champion, and Sablikova is a 4-time world champion, the youth have only one bronze medal. Since 2009, no speed skater except Wüst and Sablikova has received the champion laurel wreath. Olympic champion and the leader of the national team of the country of the rising sun, Takagi, can become the first Japanese world all-around champion in the history of speed skating.
The Russian national team is represented by: Natalia Voronina, Yulia Skokova, Evgenia Lalenkova
Broadcasts
Live broadcasts championship of four continents will be available on the following resources:
ISU Skating Channel
Sportsbox
To go to the broadcast, click on the banner
MATCH! Arena
To go to the broadcast, click on the banner
On foreign TV channels NOS.nl, cbc.ca, broadcasts are available using VPN (hola.org).
Competition schedule (Moscow time)
| 21.30 | 500 meters (Women) |
| 22.15 | 3000 meters (Women) |
