The short track season is on in the Netherlands

The first event of the KNSB Cup took place last Sunday in Heereveen and skaters were battling on 500m.

By Carl Savard

Photos by Bert van Lobenstein

While most of the skaters taking part in this first competition of the season were Dutch, Japan, Belgium and Italy were also represented. Over 130 skaters were in action and they were splitted in 8 divisions. While most competitions all over the world are separating men and women, it’s not the case during the short track KNSB cup. Divisions are made using time, regardless of the gender. In the top group, the competition was won by Japan’s Kazuki Yoshinaga. Netherland’s Itzhak de Laat finished in second place while Belgium’s Stijn Desmet finished third. Daan Breeuwsma who’s coming back from a knee surgery finished 6th, two spots behind his teammate Dennis Visser. The 2015 overall world champion Sjinkie Knegt didn’t take part in the competition.  Olympic champion Suzanne Schulting and olympic silver medalist Yara van Kerkhof were fighting amongst the men in the division A and respectively finished at the 16th and 18th positions.

In the B division, Melle van ‘t Wout finished first, Jens van ‘t Wout finished second and Ingmar van de Griek finished in third place. The other skaters from the women’s national team were battling in this group. Rianne de Vries finished in 6th place, while her teammates Lara van Ruijven and Avalon Aardoom finished respectively 8th and 9th. Japan’s female skater Sumire Kikuchi finished in 14th place while her compatriot Aoi Watanabe finished 18th.

The second event of the KNSB Cup will be held on November 4th in Zoetermeer, the hometown of Yara van Kerkhof.

Don't forget to follow our Facebook page, our Instagram account and our Twitter account for daily news and results about speed skating.