February 1. Speed Skating. Women. 3000m.
- Marina Zuyeva (Belarus) – 4:18.26
- Nana Takahashi (Japan) – 4:27.68
- Elena Sockryakova (Russia) – 4:27.89
On Wednesday one of two medals sets were contested in women 3000m speed skating competition. 32 speed skaters were in the start list. But many experts marked Marina Zyeva, 24 years old, from Belarus as a favorite.
“Medeu” ice rink staff put a lot of efforts to clean the ice rink after heavy snow. They did their best and the ice was literally shining.
The forecast before the start proved true and Zuyeva became the best on the distance and got ahead Nana Takahashi for over 20 sec. Elena Sokhryakova won a bronze medal.
The medalists shared their impressions after the competition.
Marina Zuyeva:
“It’s not my first time in Medeu. I competed here at the students world championship. I like mountains and the ice rink but I feel the altitude and its hard to recover your breath after the start. In the Athletes’ village there are a lot of interesting events are being held. The distance was not too hard for me as it was during the World cup competitions. I just took part in the competitions in Berlin and in two days I’m leaving for South Korea to compete and my participation here was a pleasure.
Nana Takahashi:
“I had a good result today. Tomorrow I hope to show higher result tomorrow and win the race.
Elena Sokhryakova:
“The ice rink is very beautiful and it’s my first time here. The ice rink is well prepared and it shines when the weather is sunny. I really wanted to win and I managed to be in the top three athletes. Probably I will compete in a team race competition.”
