INTERNATIONAL SKATING UNION OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER NO 43 JANUARY 2011

INSIDE• ISU NEWS• GRAND PRIX • WORLD CUP REPORTS• RESULTS

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ISU World is the official newsletter of the International Skating UnionPublished and produced by ISU, Chemin de Primerose 2, 1007 Lausanne, SwitzerlandTelephone: +41 21 612 66 66. Facsimile: +41 21 612 66 77. Editorial board: Fredi Schmid, Devra Pitt Getaz, Selina Vanier, Rodney Lajoie. Designed by www.moserdesign.ch.Front cover photograph: Daisuke Takahashi (JPN) © Getty Images Photography: ©Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee© Getty Images, ©Christopher Lee, ©Feng Li, ©Matthew Stockman ©Jamie Squire ©AFP ©Mike Hewitt

ISU COUNCILAt its autumn meeting on October 15-17, 2010 in Munich (GER), the ISU Council appointed Ms Krisztina Regöczy (HUN) as the Sports Director Figure Skating. See Communication 1655 for other decisions.

The Spring ISU Council meeting 2011 will take place in Helsinki (FIN) from April 8 – 10, 2011.

Readers interested in keeping up with important ISU Communications can subscribe to an RSS feed via the front page of the isu.org website.

ISU SPORTS DIRECTORATEOn November 29, 2010 the Sports Directorate met to discuss the proposed new Team Event at the Olympic Winter Games, which is likely to be included in the Olympic Program for the first time in 2014. Also on the agenda were the significant modifications for the ISU Championships including a preliminary round for qualification which necessitated the updating of all competition documents and schedules. Other priorities in this pre-Cham-pionship period include the Figure Skating Seminars in Berlin and Oberstdorf, as well as a new concept for the Global Seminar in Frankfurt. In the Speed Skating branch prepa-ratory work continued ahead of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games. In Short Track event presentation remained the key focus area. Speed Skating Mass starts have also been the subject of detailed evaluation and several mass start events have been scheduled during the World Cup season.

ISU TECHNICAL COMMITTEES

Single & Pair SkatingIn the period of autumn 2010 the Committee Members were involved in moderating various ISU Judges Seminars (Beijing, China and Eindhoven, Netherlands - September, Portland, USA and Melbourne, Australia - November, December). They served as Technical Controllers and Referees at various Grand Prix and Junior Grand Prix Events. At the Initial Judges Meetings and Round Table Discussions of these Events they explained all the nuances of the ISU Technical Regulations 2010 which contain some differences with the previous Regulations. The Committee Members in this period were also involved in correspondence with the Officials Assess-ment Commission on all cases of anomalies

I have finally decided to expose a dilemma that I, as a sport administrator, have been suffering from for a long time.

The question is: are measurable sport activities in a better or worst position than that of sports mainly based on subject-ivity? One can easily assert that subjectivity is the privilege of all and a sport performance can therefore be perceived on the basis of the personal point of view. No doubt that the majority of team competitions, especially those based on a match, attract more fans and more media. They are, in two words, more popular. But contrary to the above indicated aspects there is the important detail which is that when a

sport performance cannot be measured one might have indeed a doubt on the actual level expressed therein. There are other types of entertainment, not specifically measurable, that unite the passion and interest of spectators. As an example allow me to mention movies, theatre representations, music and in general most artistic performances. One might now object that the consensus of a large group of people is enough to determine whether a per-formance is good or not. But this is not the point. The matter is that a large consensus does not automatically mean that the performance has been precisely measured.

Let’s move to the other side of the coin. When an athlete is placed according to electronic time keeping, measures obtained, for instance in high jump, or specific sport results achie-ved, for instance in weightlifting, the situation is quite different. The dilemma is extremely difficult to resolve. This is something that cannot be argued. We can try to tackle the question through two quite different perspectives, namely from the point of view of the enthusiasm obtainable with something we can define as entertainment, or as an alternative in a specific sport performance that requires a totally different approach.

For those who are more inclined to appreciate a sport event as entertainment, the purpose to precisely measure the performance is not that important. In fact what one seeks to obtain, in this case, is to be in a position to dedicate full interest to the entertainment, receiving back a personal psychological satisfaction. To those who are expert or at least good connaisseurs of a sport discipline, the time, the points, the measures performed by an athlete are something that demonstrates the level achieved and this is the kind of satisfaction that the so-called group of experts like to get. The embarrassing question resulting is that often, regardless of the specific athlete’s performance, it is the spectator who likes to consider what is the best.

In the ISU, bearing in mind that we administer competitive sports, we tried to render all our disciplines as measurable as possible, but still Figure Skating, Ice Dance and Synchronized Skating maintain a few aspects that are in line with subjectivity. Speed Skating and Short Track on the contrary are quite different; the result is certainly more direct, transparent and please do not misunderstand these adjectives. Tribute is to be paid to the ISU that is able to present a pretty wide variety through its sport disciplines to satisfy both groups involved in the dilemma of the thoughts in this message.Personally, allow me to conclude by saying that until there is a podium to be formed, it is our duty to do the utmost to ensure an accurate determination of the performance. This is my approach and point of view on the dilemma exposed. What is yours?

Ottavio CinquantaPresident, International Skating Union

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ISU NEWSin judging and following possible letters of Assessment. Also work has begun on the qua-lity of the Referees and Technical Controllers Reports for the competitions held in autumn 2010 and picking out useful proposals for the next season 2011-2012. Ice DanceThe Ice Dance Technical Committee has been busy during this period evaluating Official As-sessment Commission Reports from the ISU Junior and Senior Grand Prix of Figure Skating and the Finals. In addition numerous Referee and Technical Controller Reports from various ISU events have been received and evaluated.

Committee members have served as Officials at several events during this period. Feed-back has been sought at these competitions about the success of the introduction of the Short Dance this season. Preparations are underway for the annual meeting with the Coaches and Skaters at the upcoming World Championships in order to help them prepare for next season’s programs. The Committee has begun a project to find examples at all levels from previous compe-titions which will help Judges evaluate Pro-gram Components specifically with Ice Dance examples. The examples and analyses will be distributed by DVD during the next season.

Synchronized SkatingIn October, an ISU Recognized Synchroni-zed Skating Judges and Referees Seminar

took place in Dübendorf, Switzerland which gathered 7 Referees and 27 Judges from 12 Members, moderated by Christopher Bucha-nan and Mika Saarelainen. Two months later in December another successful ISU Reco-gnized Synchronized Skating Judges Seminar was held in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA with 11 Judges from 3 Members in attendance and moderated by Philippe Maitrot and Gale Tanger. The Synchronized Skating Technical Committee will be conducting Official Trial Judging and holding the Synchronized Skating ISU Judges Examination on the occasion of the ISU Synchronized Skating Junior World Challenge Cup 2011.

Speed SkatingIn a busy pre-Christmas season the Com-mittee has been involved in the preparation and monitoring of 8 ISU Speed Skating Events on three continents (5 Essent ISU World Cup competitions and 3 ISU Junior World Cup competitions). On the occasion of the first World Cup of the season in Heerenveen the Committee met with a group of top skaters to discuss some of the new racing rules intro-duced at the 2010 ISU Congress. A meeting with representatives of coaches was held at the occasion of the World Cup in Berlin, and efficient channels of contact between the Committee and coaches have been esta-blished. The next Committee meeting will be held on the occasion of the World Sprint Championships in Heerenveen, including a joint meeting with ISU Speed Skating Council

Members to discuss important issues for the future development of Speed Skating.

Short TrackDue to the large increase in participation of the World Cup events, the Short Track Tech-nical Committee is working on qualifications and systems to better provide greater athlete participation while protecting the integrity of the World Cup at a high level.

The start of the 2010-2011 season saw the introduction of new racing rules for Short Track. These innovations mark the first such rules changes in over 30 years, therefore a large amount of work has been carried out to ensure their successful implementation.

MR. JEAN HECKLYIt is with profound regret that the ISU learned of the death of the former ISU Honorary Vice President Mr. Jean Heckly on October 24rd, 2010 at the age of 88. Mr. Heckly began his ISU office holder career as a substitute mem-ber of the Speed Skating Technical Committee from 1959 - 1963. He then went on to become a full member in 1963 a role which he carried out for the following 19 years. He was elected as the substitute member of the ISU Council in 1982 and became a Speed Skating Council Member in 1984. He was elected to ISU Vice Presidency in 1986, a position he held until 1992 before becoming ISU Honorary Vice Pre-sident. The ISU pays tribute to Jean Heckly’s devoted service to the ISU and asks Members to remember him with affection.

ISU SECRETARIATAfter more than six years Ms. Devra Pitt Gétaz, ISU Communications Coordinator leaves the ISU at the end of this Olympic and Congress year for family reasons. We thank Ms. Pitt Gétaz for her work and wish her much success with her future. Ms. Selina Vanier has joined the ISU as the new Commu-nications Coordinator. In other changes, with the aim to reinforce the ISU’s commercial and marketing activities, Mr. Pierre Eymann has been named Sports/Marketing Coordi-nator. Mr. Fabrice Prahin has taken over Mr. Eymann’s former role as Speed Skating Sports Coordinator. We congratulate them on their appointments.

Figure Skating and Short Track Speed Skating Olympic venue: Sochi Olympic Skating Center under construction, November 2010 ISU WEBSITE: WWW.ISU.ORG

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ISU GRAND PRIX OF FIGURE SKATING

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series showcased the excitement of figure skating and the depth of up and coming talent in the post-Olympic season. Newcomers from the junior ranks debuted successfully on the senior circuit.

42 Men, 37 Ladies, 29 Pairs and 30 Ice Dance couples competed in the Grand Prix of Figure Skating this year. The series began in October in Nagoya (JPN) and Kingston (CAN) before moving on to Beijing (CHN) and Portland (USA), followed by Moscow (RUS) and Paris (FRA). The Grand Prix season concluded in December with the combined ISU Grand Prix and Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Beijing (CHN), where the top six skaters and couples (senior) and the top eight ranked junior skaters and couples in each discipline competed for the Grand Prix titles.

Reigning World silver medallist Patrick Chan (CAN) won a gold and a silver medal in his Grand Prix events before claiming his first title in the Grand Prix Final in what was his third appearance with a new personal best score of 259.75 points. Nobunari Oda (JPN) collected three silver medals – two in the Grand Prix and one in the Final. Takahiko Kozuka (JPN) earned the bronze in the Final after taking two golds on the circuit. Reigning World Champion Daisuke Takahashi (JPN) won his two Grand Prix competitions, and finished fourth in the Final. Tomas Verner (CZE) and Florent Amodio (FRA) also competed in the Final. Competition among the men was tight and substitutes Jeremy Abbott (USA) and Brandon Mroz (USA) were edged out of the Final by the second tie-breaker. Adam Rippon (USA) was the third substitute.

Alissa Czisny (USA) had a strong start into the season with a gold and a bronze in her Grand Prix events before skating off with the title in the Final. She had a new personal best of 180.75 points. Carolina Kostner (ITA) celebrated a comeback as well with a gold and a bronze on the circuit and the silver in Bejing. Reigning World Junior Champion Kanako Murakami (JPN) qualified with a gold and a bronze for the Final in her first year on the senior circuit and captured the bronze in the Final. Akiko Suzuki (JPN), Miki Ando (JPN) and, for the first time, Rachael Flatt (USA) also were in the Final after medalling in their Grand Prix events. Kiira Korpi (FIN) won the first Grand Alissa Czisny (USA) winner of the Ladies’ ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final

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FIGURE SKATING

but also recaptured the Grand Prix Final title they had won once before in the 2007/08 season. After claiming two gold medals on the circuit, Qing Pang/Jian Tong (CHN) settled for the silver in their hometown. Reigning World Junior Champions Wenjing Sui/Cong Han (CHN) impressed in their international senior-level debut with two medals on the Grand Prix and the bronze in the Final. Liubov Iliushechkina/Nodari Maisuradze (RUS), Vera Bazarova/Yuri

2010 ISU CHAMPIONSHIPSFIGURE SKATINGEuropean ChampionshipsVenue: Bern (SUI)Dates: 24 - 30 January

2010 European ChampionsLadies: Carolina Kostner (ITA)Men: Evgeni Plushenko (RUS)Pairs: Yuko Kavaguti / Alexander Smirnov (RUS)Ice Dance: Oksana Domnina / Maxim Shabalin (RUS)

Four Continents ChampionshipsVenue: Taipei City (TPE)Dates: 15 - 20 February

2010 Four Continents Champions Ladies : Mao Asada (JPN)Men : Adam Rippon (USA)Pairs : Dan Zhang / Hao Zhang (CHN)Ice Dance : Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje (CAN)

World Junior ChampionshipsVenue: Gangneung City (KOR)Dates: 28 February - 6 March

2010 World Junior ChampionsLadies: Kanako Murakami (JPN)Men: Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN)Pairs: Wenjing Sui / Cong Han (CHN)Ice Dance: Elena Ilinykh / Nikita Katsalapov (RUS)

World ChampionshipsVenue: Tokyo (JPN)Dates: 21 - 27 March

2009 World ChampionsLadies: Mao Asada (JPN)Men: Daisuke Takahashi (JPN)Pairs: Qing Pang / Jian Tong (CHN)Ice Dance: Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir (CAN)

World Synchronized Skating ChampionshipsVenue: Helsinki (FIN)Dates: 8 - 9 April

2010 World ChampionsTeam: Team Finland 1

Prix gold medal for a Finnish skater in Paris and was the first substitute for the Final. Mirai Nagasu (USA) and Ashley Wagner (USA) were the other substitutes as they did well on the circuit. Reigning World Champion Mao Asada (JPN) competed in two events but did not qualify for the Final.

Two-time World Champions Aliona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy (GER) not only struck gold in their two Grand Prix events

Richard Dornbush (USA) winner of the Men’s ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final

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Wenjing Sui/Cong Han (CHN)

Larionov (RUS) and Kirsten Moore-Towers-Dylan Moscovitch (CAN) all competed in their first Grand Prix Final. Narumi Takahashi/Mervin Tran (JPN) were the first substitutes with two medals on the Grand Prix and competed in the Junior Final as they had also competed successfully on the Junior circuit. Caitlin Yankowskas/John Coughlin (USA) and Paige Lawrence/Rudi Swiegers (CAN) were the other substitutes after winning their first medal on the circuit.

Ice Dancers Meryl Davis/Charlie White (USA) dominated the Grand Prix with two gold medals and defended last year’s title with a new personal best of 171.58 points. Last year’s bronze medallists Nathalie Péchalat/Fabian Bourzat (FRA) moved up one step on the podium and en route claimed their first two gold medals in their Grand Prix events. Vanessa Crone/Paul Poirier (CAN) came back to the Final with a gold and a silver from the circuit and claimed the bronze, their first medal, in the Final. Ekaterina Bobrova/ Dmitri Soloviev (RUS), Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje (CAN) and Nora Hoffmann/ Maxim Zavozin (HUN) all qualified for the Final for the first time. Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani (USA) claimed two bronze medals in their Grand Prix events and were the first substitutes. Madison Chock/Greg Zuerlein (USA) completed a strong showing of the North American dance teams with two bronze medals and were the second substitutes. Ekaterina Riazanova/Ilia Tkachenko (RUS) were the third substitutes after winning their first medal in the Grand Prix.

JUNIOR GRAND PRIXThe ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating entered its 14th season in 2010 and saw 93 junior men, 140 junior ladies, 34 junior pairs and 67 dance teams coming from more than 50 ISU members with an opportunity to compete at the international level. Malaysia was represented for the first time in an ISU competition.

The junior circuit started in Courchevel (FRA), went on to Brasov (ROU), Graz (AUT) Karuizawa (JPN), Sheffield (GBR) and Dresden (GER) before ending in Ostrava (CZE).

The U.S. Men had a strong showing on the Junior circuit and were represented with four competitors in the Final. 19-year-old Richard Dornbush (USA) won the gold in one Junior Grand Prix event and placed

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FIGURE SKATINGfrom the circuit. Zijun Li (CHN), who came as a late replacement for Kiri Baga (USA) to the Final, surprised with the bronze medal. All three medallists debuted on the Junior circuit. Risa Shoji (JPN), Polina Shelepen (RUS), Christina Gao (USA), Yasmin Siraj (USA) and Kristiene Gong (USA) completed the field in the Final.

Pair skating was concentrated in four events in Austria, Great Britain, Germany and the Czech Republic. Last year’s silver medallists Narumi Takahashi/Mervin Tran (JPN) medalled in both their Junior Grand Prix events and captured the title in the Final. World Junior bronze medallists Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov (RUS) earned the silver medal and the bronze went to newcomers Xiaoyu Yu/Yang Jin (CHN). Taylor Steele/Robert Schultz (CAN), Natasha Purich/Raymond Schultz (CAN), Brittany Jones/Kurtis Gaskell (CAN), Anna

Silaeva/Artur Minchuk (RUS) and Ashley Cain/ Joshua Reagan (USA) all competed in their first Junior Final. Sui/Han had actually also qualified for the Junior Final after competing on both the junior and senior circuit.

Russia dominated the Junior Ice Dance. Six out of eight couples in the Final represented Russia and in the Final Russia swept the podium. Ksenia Monko/Kirill Khaliavin defended last year’s title while Victoria Sinitsina/Ruslan Zhiganshin and Alexandra Stepanova /Ivan Bukin took the silver and bronze medals after qualifying for their first Junior Final with medals on the circuit. Also competing in the Final were Ekaterina Pushkash/Jonathan Guerreiro (RUS), Charlotte Lichtman/Dean Copely (USA), Evgenia Kosigina/Nikolai Moroshkin (RUS) and Marina Antipova/Artem Kudashev (RUS).

Nathalie Pechalat/Fabien Bourzat (FRA)

fourth in the other before claiming the title in the Junior Final in what was his third appearance in the event. Han Yan (CHN) secured the silver at home in Beijing in his first Final after winning his two Junior Grand Prix events. Andrei Rogozine (CAN) also qualified with two gold medals for his first Final and clinched the bronze medal. Max Aaron (USA), Keegan Messing (USA), Joshua Farris (USA), Zhan Bush (RUS) and Gordei Gorshkov (RUS) also competed in the Final.

Like last year, the USA and Russia dominated in the Junior Ladies and were represented with three entries each in the Final. The gold in Beijing went to 14-year-old Adelina Sotnikova (RUS), who had also claimed victory in her two Junior Grand Prix events. 13-year-old Elizaveta Tuktamisheva (RUS) took home the silver in the Junior Final and two gold medals

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From front to back: Charles Hamelin (CAN), Sung Si-Bak (KOR), Olivier Jean (CAN), Jon Eley (GBR), Tyson Heung (GER)

SHORT TRACKThe Short Track season got off to a roaring start with the North American and Asian competitions of the ISU World Cup Short Track series.

In the series individual races are held over 500m, 1000m and 1500m in both ladies’ and men’s competitions. In addition, there are relay events for national teams over 3000m (ladies) and 5000m (men).

The first of the six events of the season kicked off at the Maurice Richard Arena in Montreal, Canada where a total of 23 countries participated; however, Korea was notably not in attendance. The absence of the world’s top nation provided the opportunity for countries like Canada, China and the United States to take control of the racing. Taking advantage of local support and fans, Canada finished the weekend with 11 medals, followed by the United States who took 10 medals. China earned a total of 5 medals with other medals going to France (3) and Italy (1). On October 29-31, 2010 in Quebec City, Canada the world’s best short track speed skaters resumed competition for the second round of the series with skaters competing at

the Pavillon de la Jeunesse in Quebec City. A total of 21 countries participated, but with the Korean team absent for a second consecutive World Cup. As in the previous weekend, the team from Canada led the medal count, earning a total of 9. Having the first two stops of the ISU World Cup Short Track circuit on home soil was definitely an advantage for the Canadians, who were cheered on by the local fans. However, the competition was tight, with the team from the United States taking home 7 medals and China 6. Italy had a great weekend, earning 4 medals, and France returned home with 2. Other countries to earn medals were Great Britain (1) and Japan (1). On December 3-5, 2010 the action moved east to Changchun, China for the third round of the 2010-11 ISU World Cup Short Track season. The event marked the first of two consecutive World Cup competitions in China, and featured the return of the Korean team to World Cup competition, with a total of 22 countries participating.

The Chinese team looked as if they’d been taking careful note of the Canadian team’s playbook, taking full advantage of skating on home soil. They dominated the medal count, earning a total of 9. With the return of the Korean team, it was no surprise to see its skaters stepping on to the podium throughout

the weekend; they took a total of 7 medals. The other countries to earn medals were United States (4), Canada (3), France (3), Japan (1), Netherlands (1) and Russia (1). Back to back one week later the Short Trackers picked up the pace in Shanghai, for the series second consecutive stop on Chinese soil, and with a total of 24 countries participating. The team from Korea dominated the medal count, winning a total of 14 medals. The next best performance was by China, who earned 7 medals. Canada earned 3 medals, while France and the Netherlands earned two medals each. The other countries to earn medals were: Italy (1) and Japan (1). The ISU World Cup Short Track takes a break for the holiday season, and will resume in the New Year, on February 11-13, 2011 in Moscow, Russia before the final event on February 18-20, 2011 in Dresden, Germany. See the current standings after the four of six events completed so far on page 14 of this edition of ISU World. Video of all Short Track World Cup events is available free of charge via the ISU website. Viewers can watch the ISU World Cup Short Track series via a delayed broadcast stream link from the front page of www.isu.org

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SPEED SKATING SPEED SKATING

The Essent ISU World Cup season for 2010/2011 consists this season of eight events of which five took place before the end of 2010. They started in Heerenveen (NED) moving on to Berlin (GER), Hamar (NOR), Changchun (CHN) and Obihiro (JPN).

On the 500m ladies, Jenny Wolf (GER) currently leads with 720 points. She won the first four races but due to back problems she struggled and lost the last three races to the Olympic champion Sang-Hwa Lee (KOR) who ranks second with 650 points. Jing Yu (CHN) came in second place twice, ahead of Wolf, but Yu missed the European World Cups. Nao Kodaira (JPN) is third in the ranking with 475 points. With 55 World Cup victories in her ca-reer, Wolf only needs one more to be on equal level with her compatriot Anni Friesinger. In Heerenveen, Wolf overtook Bonnie Blair (USA) as the most frequent winner of a World Cup Speed Skating 500m race.

Christine Nesbitt (CAN) won all the 1000m and 1500m races in which she participated, but missed the two 1000m races in Obihiro. Heather Richardson (USA) took advantage of Nesbitt’s absence to win twice the 1000m in Obihiro after being the runner-up three times. Richardson took the lead with 490 points; she had never been on a World Cup podium before this season. Nesbitt is in second place with 400 points followed by Kodaira who has three podium finishes. Margot Boer (NED) is fourth both in the 500m and 1000m ranking, and fell out of the top three when she decided to skip Obihiro. She is still a strong candi-date for the World Sprint Speed Skating title in January 2011 along with Kodaira, Lee, Richardson and possibly Nesbitt.

After three 1500m races, Christine Nesbitt leads with the maximum 300 points, Mar-rit Leenstra (NED) follows, while Brittany Schussler (CAN) is third. Norway has a young skater in 6th place, Ida Njåtun (NOR) who seems to be in her break-through season. On the long distance for the ladies, Stefa-nie Beckert (GER) leads after two victories. Jilleanne Rookard (USA), who became the first 3000m winner from the USA, follows in second place. Martina Sáblíková (CZE) is third after missing the first race because of illness, but she has not yet won a race.

Asian skaters dominated the 500m. Joji Kato (JPN) leads after three victories, closely followed by Kang-Seok Lee (KOR) with two. They have 615 and 590 points respectively. Keiichiro Nagashima (JPN) is third with

SPEED SKATING

European Speed Skating ChampionshipsVenue: Collalbo (ITA)Dates: 7 - 9 January 2010 European ChampionsLadies: Martina Sábliková (CZE)Men: Sven Kramer (NED)

World Sprint Speed Skating ChampionshipsVenue: Heerenveen (NED)Dates: 22 - 23 January

2010 World Sprint ChampionsLadies: Sang-Hwa Lee (KOR)Men: Kyou-Hyuk Lee (KOR)

World Allround Speed Skating ChampionshipsVenue: Calgary (CAN)Dates: 12 – 13 February

2010 World ChampionsLadies: Martina Sábliková (CZE) Men: Sven Kramer (NED)

World Junior Speed Skating ChampionshipsVenue: Seinäjoki (FIN)Dates: 25 - 27 February

2010 World Junior ChampionsLadies: Lotte Van Beek (NED)

500 meters: Yekaterina Aydova (KAZ) 1000 meters: Lotte Van Beek (NED)1500 meters: Lotte Van Beek (NED)3000 meters: Lotte Van Beek (NED)Team Pursuit Ladies: Netherlands

Men: Koen Verweij (NED)

500 meters: Artur Nogal (POL)1000 meters: Brian Hansen (USA)1500 meters: Brian Hansen (USA)5000 meters: Koen Verweij (NED)Team Pursuit Men: Norway

World Single Distances ChampionshipsVenue: Inzell,(GER)Dates: 10 – 13 March

SHORT TRACK

European Short Track Speed Skating ChampionshipsVenue: Heerenveen (NED)Dates: 14 – 16 January

2010 European ChampionsLadies: Katerina Novotna (CZE)Men: Nicola Rodigari (ITA)

World Junior Short Track Speed Skating ChampionshipsVenue: Courmayeur (ITA)Dates: 25 - 27 February

2010 World Junior ChampionsLadies: Jihyun Choi (KOR)Men: Jinkyu Noh (KOR)

2011 ISU CHAMPIONSHIPS

World Short Track Speed Skating ChampionshipsVenue: Sheffield (GBR)Dates: 11 – 13 March

2010 World ChampionsLadies: Seung-Hi Park (KOR)Men: Ho-Suk Lee (KOR)

World Short Track Speed Skating Team ChampionshipsVenue: Warsaw (POL)Dates: 19 - 20 March

2010 World Team ChampionsLadies: Republic of KoreaMen: Republic of Korea

Marsicano and Jonathan Kuck the Americans have proved to be the team to beat. The Norwegian team is second with 50 points less, after a second place finish and a third place in Hamar behind the Canadians, who are third in the overall ranking. The Dutch team is fourth; they completed the podium in Berlin. In the ladies team pursuit, the Dutch are in the lead; they finished second in Berlin and third in Hamar and have a score of 150 points, only 5 points ahead of the German ladies, who won in Berlin but were only sixth in Hamar. Despite the fact that the Canadian team won the last race and are considered the strongest team with Christine Nesbitt, Brittany Schussler, Cindy Klassen and Kristina Groves, they are only ranked fifth as they did not finish the first competition. Russia and Norway are ranked ahead of the Canadian team with 130 point each.

As the Championship season gets underway in the New Year the remaining Essent ISU World Cup races will take place in Moscow (RUS) from 28-30 January 2011 and Salt Lake

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one victory and 488 points. There were five different winners in eight races, among them Tucker Fredricks (USA) and Pekka Koskela (FIN). Also Kyou-Hyuk Lee (KOR) frequented the podium and is fourth, only few points behind Nagashima.

Kyou-Hyuk is a strong candidate for the World Sprint title. He won three times, as he com-bines a strong 500m with the World Cup lead in the 1000m. Shani Davis (USA) is second in the 1000m, with three victories and a second place and was absent in Changchun. He lost the last race to surprise winner Samuel Schwarz (GER), after being unbeaten in the 1000m since March 2009. Stefan Groothuis (NED) is currently in third, having won 2 races in Obihiro, Fourth is Simon Kuipers (NED) and Schwarz is fifth.

The 1500m is very tight. Shani Davis is leading with 210 points. He won the first race and also came third in another. But Simon Kuipers is only 5 points behind with 2 silvers, and Trevor Marsicano (USA) is 9 points behind

Davis. He won the last race and was second in Berlin. Håvard Bøkko (NOR) is fourth in the ranking, and he won the Berlin race. Stefan Groothuis and Olympic Champion Mark Tuitert (NED) both reached the podium once.

The long distance skaters had two 5000m races, one in Heerenveen, the other in Berlin and one 10,000m in Hamar. In the absence of the recuperating champion Sven Kramer (NED), this World Cup distance was up for grabs. Kramer’s compatriot Bob de Jong has occupied that leading position. He won both in Heerenveen and Hamar in front of the Rus-sian Ivan Skobrev. Skobrev is second in the ranking, followed by Jonathan Kuck (USA), who after a fourth place in Heerenveen was second in Berlin, behind Seung-Hoon Lee from Korea, the Olympic 10,000m champion who missed the Hamar World Cup. There were third place finishes for Remco Olde Heuvel (NED), Håvard Bøkko and Jorrit Bergsma (NED).

The US men won the Team Pursuit races both in Berlin and Hamar. With Shani Davis, Trevor

Christine Nesbitt (CAN)

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City (USA)from 18-19 February 2011 before the series comes to a conclusion in Heeren-veen (NED) from 4-6 March 2011.

ISU JUNIOR WORLD CUPThe ISU Junior World Cup Speed Skating series kicked off in November and took place across 3 continents. The Canadian, American and Romanian skaters went to Calgary (CAN), the Japanese, Chinese and Koreans chose Tomakomai (JPN) and other skaters gathered in Zakopan (POL).

The series gives young speed skaters a plat-form at top international junior level providing additional challenges and nurturing compe-titive spirit as athletes move towards senior level. In the ISU Junior World Cup series the participants are either A or B juniors, which means that they are in the last four years of being eligible to participate at junior level (aged 15-19 years). They skate all in one divi-sion, and the program includes 500m, 1000m,

Joji Kato (JPN)

1500m and 3000m as well as the Team Pur-suit for both men and ladies. For the men the 3000m is at times replaced by the 5000m. The ladies skate 6 laps in the Team Pursuit and the men skate 8 laps. The event is supported by ISU’s Development Program. Prize money will be awarded for the three best skaters or teams in the final overall classification of each distance/event. Skaters can earn points through the World Cups.

Some of the highlights of the Junior World Cup so far: In Calgary, Kali Christ (CAN) won the ladies’ 1500m in 2:00.20, which is the best time ever in the Junior World Cup. Brianne Tutt (CAN) did not finish that race but she is a promising allrounder, as she won all other distances, from 500m to 3000m in good times. In Tomakomai there was only one Ko-rean lady per distance. Bo-Reum Kim won the 1500m and 3000m and Hyun-Yung Kim was the best sprinter, with Erina Kamiya winning the other 500m and Misaki Oshigiri winning the 1000m. Times here were much slower.

SPEED SKATING

Also in the men’s field, the one Korean partici-pant won the distance (Sung-Gyu Kim the 500m and 1000m, Tae-Hoon Koh the 3000m), except in the 1500m, where Bailin Li (CHN) was the fastest and Koh only fifth.

In Zakopane, Yekaterina Aydova (KAZ) won the 500m and was second behind Lotte van Beek (NED) in the 1000m. Pien Keulstra won the ladies’ 1500 and 3000m. The men’s 500m was dominated by the Russian, Pavel Kulizh-nikov who won both races but lost the 1000m to Maurice Vriend (NED). Sverre Lunde Peder-sen (a member of the successful Norwegian senior Team Pursuit team), won the 1500m in a track record and Frank Hermans (NED) improved the 3000m track record, only 0.01 ahead of Lunde Pedersen in a straight duel.

This series will continue in Baselga di Piné (ITA) from 29-30 January, Milwaukee (USA) from 4-6 February, Seinajöki (FIN) from 25-27 February on the occasion of the ISU World Junior Speed Skating

12

Samsung Trophée Ladies NHK Skate Anycall Cup Skate Rostelecom Eric Total Trophy Canada of China America Cup Bompard Points

1 Miki Ando JPN 1st 1st 302 Alissa Czisny USA 1st 3rd 263 Carolina Kostner ITA 1st 3rd 264 Kanako Murakami JPN 3rd 1st 265 Akiko Suzuki JPN 2nd 2nd 266 Rachael Flatt USA 2nd 2nd 267 Kiira Korpi FIN 4th 1st 248 Mirai Nagasu USA 4th 2nd 229 Ashley Wagner USA 5th 3rd 1810 Amelie Lacoste CAN 3rd 5th 1811 Cynthia Phaneuf CAN 4th 4th 1812 Ksenia Makarova RUS 2nd 7th 1713 Agnes Zawadzki USA 6th 4th 1414 Joshi Helgesson SWE 7th 4th 1315 Haruka Imai JPN 5th 6th 1216 Alena Leonova RUS 3rd 9th 1117 Valentina Marchei ITA 8th 5th 1018 Mao Asada JPN 8th 5th 1019 Elene Gedevanishvili GEO 6th 7th 920 Bingwa Geng CHN 5th 721 Myriane Samson CAN 7th 8th 722 Viktoria Helgesson SWE 9th 6th 523 Sofia Biryukova RUS 6th 524 Amanda Dobbs USA 6th 525 Sonia Lafuente ESP 10th 7th 4

Samsung Trophée Men NHK Skate Anycall Cup Skate Rostelecom Eric Total Trophy Canada of China America Cup Bompard Points

1 Takahiko Kozuka JPN 1st 1st 302 Daisuke Takahashi JPN 1st 1st 303 Patrick Chan CAN 1st 2nd 284 Tomas Verner CZE 3rd 1st 265 Nobunari Oda JPN 2nd 2nd 266 Florent Amodio FRA 3rd 2nd 247 Jeremy Abbott USA 2nd 3rd 248 Brandon Mroz USA 2nd 3rd 249 Adam Rippon USA 3rd 4th 2010 Kevin Reynolds CAN 4th 4th 1811 Samuel Contesti ITA 6th 4th 1412 Yuzuru Hanyu JPN 4th 7th 1313 Alban Preaubert FRA 6th 5th 1214 Armin Mahbanoozadeh USA 3rd 1115 Shawn Sawyer CAN 5th 8th 1016 Brian Joubert FRA 4th 917 Artur Gachinski RUS 7th 6th 918 Kevin Van Der Perren BEL 8th 6th 819 Javier Fernandez ESP 5th 9th 720 Tatsuki Machida JPN 5th 11th 721 Daisuke Murakami JPN 5th 722 Chafik Besseghier FRA 5th 723 Nan Song CHN 10th 6th 524 Takahito Mura JPN 6th 525 Ross Miner USA 9th 7th 4

Final - Pairs

1 Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy GER2 Qing Pang / Jian Tong CHN3 Wenjing Sui / Cong Han CHN4 Lubov Iliushechkina / Nodari Maisuradze RUS5 Vera Bazarova / Yuri Larionov RUS6 Kirsten Moore-Towers / Dylan Moscovitch CAN

FIGURE SKATING Grand Prix of Figure Skating – standings after six of six events (full results on www.isu.org )

GRAND PRIX9 – 12 December,

Final - Ladies

1 Alissa Czisny USA2 Carolina Kostner ITA3 Kanako Murakami JPN4 Akiko Suzuki JPN5 Miki Ando JPN6 Rachael Flatt USA

Final - Pairs

1 Narumi Takahashi / Mervin Tran JPN2 Ksenia Stolbova / Fedor Klimov RUS3 Xiaoyu Yu / Yang Jin CHN4 Taylor Steele / Robert Schultz CAN5 Ashley Cain / Joshua Reagan USA6 Brittany Jones / Kurtis Gaskell CAN7 Natasha Purich / Raymond Schultz CAN8 Anna Silaeva / Artur Minchuk RUS

JUNIOR GRAND PRIX 9 – 12 December,

Final - Ladies

1 Adelina Sotnikova RUS2 Elizaveta Tuktamisheva RUS3 Zijun Li CHN4 Risa Shoji JPN5 Polina Shelepen RUS6 Christina Gao USA7 Yasmin Siraj USA8 Kristiene Gong USA

13

Samsung Trophée Pairs NHK Skate Anycall Cup Skate Rostelecom Eric Total Trophy Canada of China America Cup Bompard Points

1 Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy GER 1st 1st 30

2 Qing Pang /Jian Tong CHN 1st 1st 30

3 Vera Bazarova / Yuri Larionov RUS 2nd 2nd 26

4 Kirsten Moore-Towers / Dylan Moscovitch CAN 2nd 2nd 26

5 Lubov Iliushechkina / Nodari Maisuradze RUS 1st 4th 24

6 Wenjing Sui / Cong Han CHN 2nd 3rd 24

7 Narumi Takahashi / Mervin Tran JPN 3rd 2nd 24

8 Caitlin Yankowskas / John Coughlin USA 4th 3rd 20

9 Paige Lawrence / Rudi Swiegers CAN 3rd 5th 18

10 Amanda Evora / Mark Ladwig USA 5th 3rd 18

11 Caydee Denney / Jeremy Barrett USA 5th 4th 16

12 Yuko Kavaguti / Alexander Smirnov RUS 1st 15

13 Marissa Castelli / Simon Shnapir USA 4th 6th 14

14 Mylene Brodeur / John Mattatall CAN 6th 4th 14

15 Maylin Hausch / Daniel Wende GER 7th 3rd 11

16 Katarina Gerboldt / Alexander Enbert RUS 4th 9

17 Felicia Zhang / Taylor Toth USA 7th 5th 7

18 Ksenia Stolbova / Fedor Klimov RUS 5th 7

19 Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford CAN 5th 7

20 Britney Simpson / Nathan Miller USA 6th 7th 5

21 Stefania Berton / Ondrej Hotarek ITA 6th 5

22 Nicole Della Monica / Yannick Kocon ITA 6th 5

23 Klara Kadlecova / Petr Bidar CZE 6th 5

Samsung Trophée Ice Dance NHK Skate Anycall Cup Skate Rostelecom Eric Total Trophy Canada of China America Cup Bompard Points

1 Meryl Davis / Charlie White USA 1st 1st 302 Nathalie Pechalat / Fabian Bourzat FRA 1st 1st 303 Vanessa Crone / Paul Poirier CAN 1st 2nd 284 Ekaterina Bobrova / Dmitri Soloviev RUS 2nd 1st 285 Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje CAN 2nd 4th 226 Nora Hoffmann / Maxim Zavozin HUN 4th 2nd 227 Maia Shibutani / Alex Shibutani USA 3rd 3rd 228 Madison Chock / Greg Zuerlein USA 3rd 3rd 229 Ekaterina Riazanova / Ilia Tkachenko RUS 5th 2nd 2010 Elena Ilinykh / Nikita Katsalapov RUS 4th 3rd 2011 Pernelle Carron / Lloyd Jones FRA 5th 4th 1612 Kristina Gorshkova / Vitali Butikov RUS 6th 4th 1413 Xintong Huang / Xun Zheng CHN 5th 5th 1414 Sinead Kerr / John Kerr GBR 2nd 1315 Lucie Mysliveckova / Matej Novak CZE 6th 5th 1216 Federica Faiella / Massimo Scali ITA 3rd 1117 Alexandra Paul / Mitchell Islam CAN 4th 918 Kharis Ralph / Asher Hill CAN 7th 6th 919 Cathy Reed / Chris Reed JPN 7th 7th 820 Anna Cappellini / Luca Lanotte ITA 5th 721 Penny Coomes / Nicholas Buckland GBR 8th 8th 622 Lynn Kriengkrairut / Logan Giulietti-Schmitt USA 6th 523 Madison Hubbell / Keiffer Hubbell USA 6th 524 Isabella Cannuscio / Ian Lorello USA 7th 425 Sarah Arnold / Justin Trojek CAN 7th 4

Final - Men1 Patrick Chan CAN2 Nobunari Oda JPN3 Takahiko Kozuka JPN4 Daisuke Takahashi JPN5 Tomas Verner CZE6 Florent Amodio FRA

Final - Ice Dance

1 Meryl Davis / Charlie White USA2 Nathalie Pechalat / Fabian Bourzat FRA3 Vanessa Crone / Paul Poirier CAN4 Ekaterina Bobrova / Dmitri Soloviev RUS5 Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje CAN6 Nora Hoffmann / Maxim Zavozin HUN

OF FIGURE SKATING FINALBeijing, China

Final - Men1 Richard Dornbush USA2 Han Yan CHN3 Andrei Rogozine CAN4 Max Aaron USA5 Keegan Messing USA6 Joshua Farris USA7 Zhan Bush RUS8 Gordei Gorshkov RUS

Final - Ice Dance

1 Ksenia Monko / Kirill Khaliavin RUS2 Victoria Sinitsina / Ruslan Zhiganshin RUS3 Alexandra Stepanova / Ivan Bukin RUS4 Ekaterina Pushkash / Jonathan Guerreiro RUS5 Charlotte Lichtman / Dean Copely USA6 Evgenia Kosigina / Nikolai Moroshkin RUS7 Anastasia Galyeta / Alexei Shumski UKR8 Marina Antipova / Artem Kudashev RUS

OF FIGURE SKATING FINALBeijing, China

14

SPEED SKATING

ESSENT ISU WORLD CUP SPEED SKATING – overall standings after five of eight events

Total Ladies 500m Points

1 Jenny Wolf GER 720 2 Sang-Hwa Lee KOR 650 3 Nao Kodaira JPN 475 4 Margot Boer NED 410 5 Heather Richardson USA 344 6 Maki Tsuji JPN 295 7 Judith Hesse GER 279 8 Jing Yu CHN 255 9 Laurine Van Riessen NED 246 10 Shuai Qi CHN 220

Total Ladies 1000m Points

1 Heather Richardson USA 490 2 Christine Nesbitt CAN 400 3 Nao Kodaira JPN 339 4 Margot Boer NED 260 5 Shannon Rempel CAN 218 6 Judith Hesse GER 213 7 Maki Tsuji JPN 212 8 Gabriele Hirschbichler GER 199 9 Miho Takagi JPN 181 10 Monique Angermüller GER 180

Total Ladies 1500m Points

1 Christine Nesbitt CAN 300 2 Marrit Leenstra NED 186 3 Brittany Schussler CAN 170 4 Cindy Klassen CAN 165 5 Ireen Wüst NED 150 6 Ida Njåtun NOR 127 7 Laurine Van Riessen NED 113 8 Jilleanne Rookard USA 113 9 Yekaterina Lobysheva RUS 80 10 Margot Boer NED 77

Total Ladies 3000/5000m Points

1 Stephanie Beckert GER 270 2 Jilleanne Rookard USA 200 3 Martina Sábliková CZE 160 4 Brittany Schussler CAN 150 5 Eriko Ishino JPN 146 6 Cindy Klassen CAN 144 7 Kristina Groves CAN 120 8 Ireen Wüst NED 96 9 Christine Nesbitt CAN 95 10 Ida Njåtun NOR 92

Total Men 500m Points

1 Joji Kato JPN 615 2 Kang-Seok Lee KOR 590 3 Keiichiro Nagashima JPN 488 4 Kyou-Hyuk Lee KOR 475 5 Tucker Fredricks USA 434 6 Akio Ota JPN 352 7 Jan Smeekens NED 312 8 Dmitry Lobkov RUS 275 9 Yuya Oikawa JPN 249 10 Jacques de Koning NED 207

Total Men 1000m Points

1 Kyou-Hyuk Lee KOR 402 2 Shani Davis USA 380 3 Stefan Groothuis NED 330 4 Simon Kuipers NED 290 5 Samuel Schwarz GER 253 6 Jan Bos NED 253 7 Nico Ihle GER 217 8 Mikael Flygind-Larsen NOR 213 9 Denny Morrison CAN 211 10 Hein Otterspeer NED 170

Men 1500m Points

1 Shani Davis USA 210 2 Simon Kuipers NED 205 3 Trevor Marsicano USA 201 4 Håvard Bøkko NOR 182 5 Stefan Groothuis NED 162 6 Mark Tuitert NED 126 7 Ivan Skobrev RUS 120 8 Jonathan Kuck USA 100 9 Alexis Contin FRA 97 10 Mikael Flygind-Larsen NOR 95

Total Men 5000/10000m Points

1 Bob de Jong NED 260 2 Ivan Skobrev RUS 200 3 Jonathan Kuck USA 185 4 Håvard Bøkko NOR 166 5 Seung-Hoon Lee KOR 140 6 Bob de Vries NED 136 7 Jorrit Bergsma NED 134 8 Wouter Olde Heuvel NED 120 9 Alexis Contin FRA 115 10 Dmitry Babenko KAZ 78

Total Men Team Pursuit Points

1 USA 200 2 Norway 150 3 Canada 130 4 Netherlands 120 5 Russia 100

Total Ladies Team Pursuit Points

1 Netherlands 150 2 Germany 145 3 Russia 130 4 Norway 130 5 Canada 100

15

SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATING

ISU WORLD CUP SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATING – overall standings after four of six events

Total Ladies 500m Points

1 Nannan Zhao CHN 30002 Kexin Fan CHN 20803 Qiuhong Liu CHN 20104 Marianne St-Gelais CAN 20005 Arianna Fontana ITA 16446 Yui Sakai JPN 11327 Valerie Lambert CAN 9688 Erika Huszar HUN 7879 Jessica Gregg CAN 72610 Shin-Young Yang KOR 722

Total Ladies 1000m Points

1 Yang Zhou CHN 24402 Katherine Reutter USA 19683 Qiuhong Liu CHN 16904 Lana Gehring USA 15385 Marie-Eve Drolet CAN 14806 Marianne St-Gelais CAN 14407 Nannan Zhao CHN 10508 Alyson Dudek USA 10369 Ha-Ri Cho KOR 100010 Shin-Young Yang KOR 1000

Total Ladies 1500m Points

1 Katherine Reutter USA 28002 Yang Zhou CHN 24403 Ha-Ri Cho KOR 18004 Marie-Eve Drolet CAN 15385 Biba Sakurai JPN 14906 Dam Min Kim KOR 14147 Valerie Maltais CAN 11528 Bernadett Heidum HUN 11329 Seung-Hi Park KOR 112810 Jorien Ter Mors NED 1056

Total Ladies Relay Points

1 China 30002 Canada 19523 USA 18504 Republic of Korea 18005 Japan 15366 Netherlands 13787 Italy 12608 Russia 10669 Germany 85210 Poland 336

Total Men 500m Points

1 Charles Hamelin CAN 17222 Thibaut Fauconnet FRA 16353 Jialiang Han CHN 15904 Francois-Louis Tremblay CAN 15125 Wenhao Liang CHN 14756 Si-Bak Sung KOR 14107 Jin Yang CHN 11848 Simon Cho USA 11789 Semen Elistratov RUS 113410 Ryosuke Sakazume JPN 996

Total Men 1000m Points

1 Thibaut Fauconnet FRA 28002 Travis Jayner USA 17023 Anthony Lobello USA 16644 Jinkyu Noh KOR 15125 Michael Gilday CAN 14566 Byeong-Jun Kim KOR 10007 Charles Hamelin CAN 10008 Yongjun Yu CHN 9309 Si-Bak Sung KOR 92210 Sjinkie Knegt NED 816

Total Men 1500m Points

1 Maxime Chataignier FRA 19202 Jeff Simon USA 18503 Cheol Min Kim KOR 17744 Guillaume Bastille CAN 17475 Weilong Song CHN 15226 Xianwei Liu CHN 12967 Yuzo Takamido JPN 12308 Jinkyu Noh KOR 10359 Michael Gilday CAN 102610 Yuma Sakurai JPN 1000

Total Men Relay Points

1 Canada 30002 USA 22403 Republic of Korea 16404 China 15365 Netherlands 14606 Italy 12607 Russia 12508 France 12209 Germany 91810 Japan 564

Total Ladies Team Points

1 China 38002 Canada 28503 Japan 19464 USA 19205 Republic of Korea 16006 Netherlands 14967 Italy 11488 Russia 9969 Germany 75610 Poland 472

Total Men Team Points

1 Canada 32402 China 28803 USA 21524 Republic of Korea 20005 France 14346 Russia 14107 Japan 12468 Netherlands 11009 Italy 88210 Germany 732

PAST MASTERRINTJE RITSMA (NED): BORN 1970

Olympic Winter GamesMen’s 1,500 m Silver Medal 1994Men’s 5,000 m Bronze Medal 1994Men’s 1,500 m Bronze Medal 1998Men’s 5,000 m Silver Medal 1998Men’s 10,000 m Bronze Medal 1998Team Pursuit Bronze Medal 2006

World Allround Speed Skating ChampionshipsMen’s Gold Medal 1995, 1996, 1999, 2001Men’s Silver Medal 1998, 2003Men’s Bronze Medal 1993, 1994, 2000

ISU World Single Distances Speed Skating ChampionshipsMen’s 1,500 m Gold Medal 1997Men’s 1,500 m Bronze Medal 1999Men’s 5,000 m Gold Medal 1997Men’s 5,000 m Silver Medal 1998Men’s 10,000 m Silver Medal 1997

ISU European Allround Speed Skating ChampionshipsMen’s Gold Medal 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000Men’s Silver Medal 1997, 2003Men’s Bronze Medal 1992, 1993

Rintje Ritsma is one of the most successful skaters of the nineties and considered by many as one of the greatest allround skaters of all times. In his long career, he won the World Allround Championships four times, six European titles and in 1997 he won two gold medals in the 1500m and 5000m at the ISU World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships. He also won six Olympic medals between 1994 and 2006.