Short Track
FISG
Hwang, Choi, Girard and Maltais win the 1500m and 500m races, but the 94-year-old valtellinese '92 and mom of two twins will return to the top three in the World Cup after over 5 years
Saturday 7 October 2017 9 minutes reading time
Korean domain was supposed to be and ... Korean rule really was not, if not in part and in any case not in the expected proportions. The second leg of the ISU World Series Short Track Speed ​​Skating 2017-2018 (four on-schedule trials, all in reality in 2017) gives surprises, falls, disqualifications, pathos as usual, and even a big blue podium, signed by Martina Valcepina, a Valtellina capable of giving her immense joy five years and eight months (and two twins born between ...) from the last individual podium in the biggest circuit, always at Dordrecht (apparently her friend) when on February 12, 2012 was third on the 500m behind ... look at Arianna Fontana case first, and Marianne St-Gelais, then second and winner today. A third place followed by the same Fountain in Budapest a week ago, always in the shortest distance and therefore brings two placements between the top three of Italy in the season in the show, both of which were obtained with the girls.
The Olympic qualifying trials, with more than four racing days now, are stressful in every respect. The commitments remain so close, close, and not easy to handle. Arianna Fontana after having been well behaved Thursday and Friday between preliminaries and batteries, obviously felt a little 'fatigue (happen) on the first day of finals but was still competitive and competitive as long as he could. In the 1500m, for example, he drove his semi-finals and then surrendered without more energy in the last two laps. Last act on the distance to six with three Canadians, two South Koreans and a Dutch (home athlete), but there has not been history, because Choi Min-Jeong on the longer races (1000m, but it will not do in Holland after having dominated them in Budapest, and 1500m) does not seem to have any opponents at this time. The Korean man prefers to remain covered up to four laps from the term, tactics now known and used even in preliminary rounds, then to launch his classic attack on the outside with devastating and irresistible power, especially in straight. Net win, 20th in only 34 World Cup races for her (30th podium, there are also 10 seconds and no counters), ahead of Maltais (Canada) and Shim Suk Hee (South Korea), brilliant in shifts previous, but at the moment honestly helpless in the face of Seoul's 19-year-old, and she knows she is not suffering from a psychological point of view as well.
In the 500m, however, the music was quite different. In the quarters of the final blue there were three, but Peretti did not have anything in the third drum; you go brilliantly, instead, Arianna Fontana and Martina Valcepina. The latter, then, did the real masterpiece in the first semi-finals: headed to the head, never looked back despite the presence of two champions such as Choi Ming Jeon and the Chinese ten times irked Fan Kexin. With the Valtellina clearly headed, Choi, who is more objectively fatigued at this distance, attempted to rebuild hindered the Chinese by putting it out of the game. It will be disqualified after coming third, but little will change. The impression is that Martina would still be able to center the last act. Finale therefore for Valcepina with the Dutch van Kerkhof. In the second semi-finals, the candles St-Gelais and Boutin left in the distance, at a distance where the first meters after the start (twice given in this case for a fall at the first curve) are fundamental, and then they have built an indestructible wall for anyone, even for Arianna Fontana who did not have it anymore. The blue ended fourth, while his teammate had already flown to the last act. Where the repertoire was repeated: Marianne St-Gelais, Olympic silver on the distance to Vancouver 2010 behind Wang Meng and gold honed at 1500m in Seoul 2016, took the 18th success in the circuit with Kim Boutin to complete the Canadian double, second. Italy, however, exiled for the third place in Martina Valcepina, at the eighth personal podium in the Cup: the athlete grew up in the ASD Bormio ice, though never succeeding in attacking the Canadian Wall, was good at avoid mockery at the fatal moment of Dutchman Yara van Kerkhof, dropping a puff around her just as she tried to overcome her in the interior. For the jury no irregularities of the blue, normal closing of the wake and blue party that could then begin.
At the men's level no blue champion was able to reach the semifinals, while in the 1500s dominated the 18-year-old South Korean Hwang dae Heong, the second World Cup success, preceding the Hungarian (Chinese father) Liu Sandor Shaolin, already winner last week in Budapest on 500m, with Hamelin third and the Dutch Kneght penalized by Girard (then disqualified) at the decisive moment. But Samuel Girard, the Canadian, turned out to be great at winning the 500m ahead of Knegt, for the joy of the home audience, and the quoted Hwang dae Heong.
Finally, bitter clash for the women's Italy: a fall in the early stages affected the entry into the final A in the tough challenge with Canada, South Korea and Germany, when the blues were in the fourth position but still further twenty laps to go. It's a huge shame, even and above all in Olympic qualification. Sunday, Fontana, Peretti, Valcepina and Maffei will at least try to conquer success in the final match B challenging Russia, Germany and the United States.
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