Velzeboer also wins 500 meters in Montreal after 1,000 meters, yellow card at 1,500 meters

This article was last updated on October 29, 2024

Canada: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
USA: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…

Velzeboer also wins 500 meters in Montreal after 1,000 meters, yellow card at 1,500 meters

Xandra Velzeboer narrowly wins World Cup gold at 500 meters, Michelle Velzeboer falls in the final

A day after winning gold in the 1,000 meters, Xandra Velzeboer also won the 500 meters at World Tour competitions in Montreal. The Dutch short track star had an excellent start to the new World Cup season.

In a spectacular final, a finish photo showed that she had narrowly won ahead of the American Kristen Santos-Griswold. Bronze went to the Belgian Hanne Desmet.

Velzeboer after two World Tour golds: ‘Gives confidence for the rest of the season’

Michelle Velzeboer ended up next to the podium after falling in the last corner together with Canadian Florence Brunelle. The Velzeboer sisters had impressively qualified for the final. In their semi-final heat they finished number one and two, after leading together for almost the entire race.

17-year-old Angel Daleman, the other Dutch short track star in the 500 meters Suzanne Schulting as mentor had already stranded in the quarter-finals earlier on Sunday.

Yellow card Velzeboer at 1,500 meters

The gold in the 500 meters should be a consolation for Xandra Velzeboer after a mixed start to Sunday. Velzeboer did not qualify for the final of the 1,500 meters half an hour after she took gold in the mixed relay. She received a yellow card for two penalties and was therefore denied a place in the final.

The race did not go smoothly: she finished her heat in third place and had to hope to qualify as one of the fastest. It didn’t get that far.

Velzeboer misses the final 1,500 meters due to a yellow card after two penalties in one race

The other Dutch woman on the mile, 19-year-old Zoe Deltrap, also did not reach the final. After she had successfully reached the semi-finals through the repechages, she finished penultimate in her heat in that semi-final battle.

South Korea’s Kim Gili won gold in the 1,500 meters, ahead of Belgium’s Desmet and South Korea’s Choi Minjeong. Schulting, multiple world champion in the 1,500 meters, will not be there in Montreal. She skips the opening of the World Tour due to… a setback in her rehabilitation.

Gold mixed redemption

In the final of the mixed relay, the Velzeboer sisters were also successful earlier on Sunday with Sjinkie Knegt and Jens van ‘t Wout, when they won gold in the mixed relay. In the final they were faster than South Korea (silver), Canada (bronze) and the United States.

Short track speed skaters beat South Korea on mixed relay after early fall from Canada and US

The final of the mixed relay in Montreal quickly became a battle between not four, but two countries. After an early collapse by Canada and the United States, the Netherlands and South Korea were left together. In the final laps, Van ‘t Wout beautifully took over the lead and cruised to victory.

Another week in Montreal

The second World Tour weekend (November 1 to 3) was planned in Salt Lake City, but it has been moved to Montreal, the track where the short track speed skaters now also ride.