Jens Van 'T Wout victorious at the KNSB Cup 2

On Sunday November 4th, the second KNSB Short Track Cup was held in Zoetermeer, Netherlands. During this competition, the skaters competed in the 1500m distance.

By Florence Gauthier

Photo: Bert van Lobenstein

The 120 skaters participating in the competition were separated into 5 divisions. These divisions were selected according to skaters' times. Since the best Dutch skaters were at the World Cup #1 in Calgary, other skaters were able to stand out. The Division A had two finals, while the other divisions had only one. Apart from division A, all the divisions were mixed, which meant that men and women competed against each other.

In Division A, Jens van 't Wout was the big winner with a 1st and a 2nd place in two events. Sven Roes follows him in second place overall with a 2nd and a 4th place. To finish the overall classification, Bram Steenaart is third. Although he finished seventh in the first final, he recovered and won the second final.

For Division B, Ted Dalrymple finished in 1st place with a time of 2:46.944. Emma van Zuijlen was the best woman in the competition. She finished 2nd in this division. On the third and last step of the podium, we find Anne Floor Otter. The only person who was not Dutch was in this division and it was Italian Giorgia Bresciani who finished 17th of her group.

A competition like this where men and women compete against each other is not usual. It allows women to stand out and push themselves against men who often have faster times. Sometimes, in practice, women skate with men to push their limits. So, one question I would like to ask is: Why aren’t there more competitions like this in other countries?

The third short track KNSB Cup will take place on 19 and 20 January 2019 in Leeuwarden.

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