Pick up the WC gold after it falls
Irene Schouten of the Netherlands won World Cup gold in the women's start event in Calgary, even after she fell in the final.
– It's very strong, but he fell at the right moment. So, it was impressive that he took the lead and sprinted. Not many athletes are able to achieve that, said Hege Bøkko in an NRK broadcast.
– It was a very good race, but not at the start. “I already wanted to attack in the first round, but my skating was so bad that I fell,” Schouten told NRK and continued:
– Then I thought I should stay calm and return to the group. I was glad the group wasn't speeding up too much, so I got back up. In the end I had enough strength to do a good turn.
Also in the final was Norway's Sofie Karoline Haugen, who impressed the world champion.
– There is great respect. He's really raw. I noticed that the field moved as he fell. The fact that he was able to drive himself was impressive. “He's very solid, so he deserves it,” Haugen told NRK.
During the race, Haugen tried to close the gap with Italian racer Laura Lorenzato, but in the end his energy ran out and he finished in 15th place.
Ivanie Blondin from Canada won silver, while Marijke Greenwood from the Netherlands won bronze.
No Norwegians made it to the men's final, where Belgium's Bart Swings took gold ahead of Canada's Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu and Switzerland's Livio Wenger. The latter was also eliminated in the final, but was helped by Bart Hoolwerf of the Netherlands and remained with the group.
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