



On a cold afternoon in Hamar, skaters took to the ice to compete on day one of the fifth World cup stop of the season.

By: Maria Dalton

As the first day of the fifth World cup of the season got underway today at the “Viking ship” skaters competed in both the men’s and women’s long-distance races in both the A and B divisions.

Sablikova rises to the occasion in the 3000m

Martina Sablikova, a mainstay on the World cup circuit for many years, found herself atop the podium today in Hamar with her time of 4:02.177. With her win today in the 3000m, she now sits atop the ISU standings with 250 points and is looking strong as we head into the latter half of the season. Natalia Voronina finished second with her time of 4:03.766, while Maryna Zueva finished third with a time of 4:03.803 – a mere fraction of a second off the silver medal pace.

Pedersen on top in the 5000m

With heavyweights Sven Kramer and Patrick Roest missing from action today, presumably to prepare for next weekend’s single distance championships it was Sverre Lunde Pedersen who came out on top in the 5k. The Norwegian finished with a time of 6:16.168 to take home the gold medal. Pedersen currently occupies the top spot on the ISU rankings in the distance races with 237 points, a mere point ahead of Alexander Rumyantsev. Rumanyantsev finished in second today, while Canadian Ted-Jan Bloeman captured his first medal of the season in the distance with his time of 6:20.446.

Honourable mentions go to Canadian Graeme Fish who captured the gold medal in the B Division with his new PB time. Also medalling today in the B Division was Valerie Maltais who brought home a silver with her time of 4:10.427 in the 3k.