Men's and Women's Speedskating Olympics 2014: Previewing Upcoming Medal Events
Both men's and women's speedskating at the 2014 Sochi Olympics have been thrilling to say the least, but the results have clearly been in favor of the Dutch.
The Netherlands has absolutely dominated the rest of the field, winning 13 medals in speedskating events thus far. It's clear that its athletes have by far been the most prepared to race in Sochi, as the Dutch have even swept the podium in two events—the men's 5,000-meter and the men's 500-meter.
Individual speedskating wraps up after the ladies' 5,000-meter event on Feb. 19. Team pursuit will begin on Feb. 21, and it will be interesting to see if the Dutch can keep up their impressive run.
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The following is a preview of the three remaining individual races, with athletes to watch in each event.
Ladies' 1,500-Meter
The ladies' 1,500-meter event will take place on Feb. 16, and the field will have to be aware of the following competitors.
Ireen Wust, Netherlands
Beware of the Dutch in speedskating events.
Ireen Wust has already won a gold and a silver medal in Sochi, and she'll be looking to add even more hardware to her collection in the 1,500-meter event. The gold she won made it three-straight Olympics in which she has taken home the top prize.
Wust is the clear favorite for this event. Her prowess in speedskating far exceeds her competition, and the fact that she burst onto the scene as a 19-year-old in Turin means she has the experience to overcome bad laps and pick up lost seconds.
Don't bet against Wust in this one.
Heather Richardson, USA
Heather Richardson has had relatively disappointing performances thus far, finishing eighth in the 500-meter and seventh in the 1,000-meter. She'll be looking to avenge those poor performances with a strong one in the 1,500-meter.
Maybe those poor performances aren't all her fault though. Paul Myerberg of USA Today is reporting that Team USA has been cleared to change its speedskating uniforms after complaints by the athletes that the previous ones were slowing them down.
Myerberg reminds us that Richardson had already asked for a slight alteration in the suit, though the change didn't actually have an effect on her performance.
Let's see if the newer suits will change things for Team USA.
Men's 10,000-Meter
The men's 10,000-meter race will occur on Feb. 18, and once again, the field will have to watch out for the Dutch.
Sven Kramer, Netherlands
Sven Kramer has already dominated early on in Sochi, and he's preparing himself for what will surely be an exciting 10,000-meter event. Via Kramer's Twitter account:
Kramer won gold in the men's 5,000-meter by over five seconds with a total time of six minutes, 10.76 seconds, and he'll be looking to maintain a similar pace against the field on Feb. 18.
No other athlete at this year's Games has been as dominant as Kramer. The Dutch are surely reaping the benefits of having him destroying the competition, and they'd love to see him medal yet again in this event.
Don't just look for him to medal though. Look for him to win gold.
Emery Lehman, USA
America's young phenom in the speedskating world, 17-year-old Emery Lehman, will be looking to make the podium in an event that he just barely qualified for.
The speedskating trials that concluded on Jan. 1 featured the men's 10,000-meter race, in which Lehman was skating in hopes of qualifying for the Olympics. It came down to the final lap between himself and Jonathan Kuck, but Lehman was able to outlast his competitor and win by just .07 seconds.
Lehman finished just 16th in his first Olympic race earlier in Sochi, but he'll be looking to learn from that experience and balance the nerves with the adrenaline of racing at the Winter Olympics.
He's a dark-horse candidate to watch.
Ladies' 5,000-Meter
The ladies' 5,000-meter event will take place on Feb. 19, featuring arguably the most motivated athlete in Sochi for the 2014 Games.
Claudia Pechstein, Germany
The most motivated athlete in Sochi is by far Germany's Claudia Pechstein. After being banned from the Vancouver Games, Pechstein has reaching the podium on her mind.
Her fourth-place finish in the 3,000-meter will fuel her even more in the 5,000-meter event. Pechstein wants to prove that she belongs back in the Olympics. The fourth-place finish was impressive, but winning a medal is surely on her mind at this point.
Don't sleep on Pechstein. Just because she didn't medal in her last event doesn't mean she won't in this one.
Martina Sablikova, Czech Republic
Martina Sablikova took gold in this event in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and that makes her a favorite of sorts to compete with Pechstein.
Sablikova dropped out of the 1,500-meter event ahead of the 5,000-meter. The fact that she's resting up and saving her energy for the longer event would suggest that she's gearing up for a run at the podium.
Czech team spokesman Alexandr Kliment told RiaNovosti why Sablikova is sitting out of the event: "She will not compete in the 1,500m because she wants to prevent herself from getting injured before the 5,000m. She wants to rest and relax."
With proper rest, look for her to earn a spot on the podium.
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