Dordrecht day 1: Dutch skaters upfront

The European Short Track Speed ​​Skating Championships are held in Dordrecht in the Netherlands from January 11th to 13th.

By Florence Gauthier
Photo: Bert van Lobenstein

On the first day of the competition, the skaters competed for their place in the semi-finals of the 1500m and the quarterfinals of the 500m and 1000m. After their individual distances, they took part in the relays' quarter-finals.

Hometeam in control on the women's side of the competition

The Dutch women's team, composed of Suzanne Schulting, Yara van Kerkhof and Lara van Ruijven, had a lot of pressure to perform well as they were in front of their spectators. The skaters met the challenge by qualifying for the next rounds in each of the distances. Elise Christie also managed to move on to the next rounds even though she is competing for the first time since the Pyeongchang Olympic games. Petra Jaszapati, who won her first World Cup medal last December, qualified in the 1500m. Subsequently, she narrowly passed thanks to her time by finishing 3rd in the 500m. She recovered and won her race in the 1000m. Among the other important names who managed to pass the first round of the weekend in the three distances are Véronique Pierron (France), Natalia Maliszewska (Poland) and Sofia Prosvirnova (Russia).

Finding success without Sjinkie Knegt

After an injury in December and a burning accident this week, Sjinkie Knegt could not compete and defend his European champion title. The title of leader of the Dutch team was then given to Daan Breeuwsma who finished 21st at the same competition last season. He advanced to the next round for all three distances Friday. His teammate Itzhak de Laat did the same. For his part, Dylan Hoogerwerf qualified for the next rounds in the 1500m and 500m, but was penalized on 1000m. Not surprisingly, brothers Shaoang Liu and Shaolin Sandor Liu finished 1st or 2nd of each of their races to continue their path on all the distances. A team we rarely see in major competitions is the Turkish team. Yet two of their men take part in the competition this weekend. Tunay Simsek didn’t qualify for the next rounds in any of the distances. After a penalty in the 1500m, Firat Yardimci has recovered and will move to the next round in the 500m and 1000m.

No surprises in the relays

The Dutch ladies led their race from start to finish, finishing just ahead of the French team. Russia won its race, and was followed by Germany. Italy and Hungary followed eachother the whole race and the Italians finished first. Thanks to their time, the women of the Czech Republic move on to the next round. For men, the Dutch dominated their race. The second team of their race was Latvia who finished sixteen seconds behind them. The Hungarians finished first, followed by the French. The Russians and Italians finished respectively in first and second place. Since they had a good time, the Turks and Belgians will be able to face the other teams in the semifinals.

See the full results here

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