Patrick Roest (NED) was so tired that he had to take a chair and sit down while he was interviewed in the mixed zone, but he had done it. After winning three silver medals, a bronze and a Team Pursuit gold at previous World Single Distance Championships, the Dutchman finally brought home his first individual World title in the 5000m in Heerenveen on Thursday. Not only that, but his win made history for Netherlands on home ice as the nation’s 100th World Single Distance gold. Davide Ghiotto (ITA) and Bart Swings (BEL) took silver and bronze. The Canadian men wrapped up the men’s competition on the first day with gold in the Team Sprint event.
Patrick Roest celebrates winning World 5000m gold in Heerenveen @ISU
Under pressure
Coming into the 5000m race in Thialf Stadium, Roest had already won silver in both the 5000m and 10,000m in 2019, and claimed 1500m bronze, 5000m silver and gold in the men's Team Pursuit in 2021. The Dutchman had also finished on the podium in 32 of his last 33 appearances in 5000m races at national, continental or world level.
“You know there’s a lot of pressure on this one,” he admitted.
Ghiotto piled on more pressure. The Italian, who had managed to beat Roest in the fifth 5000m World Cup race three weeks ago, went out superfast in the eighth of ten pairings, with the Dutchman yet to come in the ninth heat.
David Ghiotto claimed a stunning silver in the 5000m after a blistering start @ISU
Roest said: “When I saw him start out so fast, it got me a little nervous. I knew those lap times were exceptional, and I hoped that he would face that too, which eventually happened.”
However, the Italian couldn’t keep up his pace and eventually stopped the clock at 6:11.12.
Ghiotto said: “I knew during the race that the last part would be very hard. Usually, I need to start a little bit slowly. This was not the plan. After the race my coach asked me: why do you start so fast. I don’t know. My legs felt good and then I heard the public.”
Keeping composure
Roest knew he had to stick to a solid race plan in the penultimate heat versus Bart Swings.
He trailed Ghiotto’s split times up till the 3800m split, but the Dutchman managed to keep his lap times under 30.00s until the final lap, which he concluded in 30.31 to stop the clock at 6:08.94.
Roest kept his composure to win Netherlands' 100th World Single Distance gold @ISU
His victory came at a cost. “I gave it my all, I’m still dizzy,” Roest said even after the medal ceremony. “I was completely knackered, even during the lap of honor I barely had the energy to celebrate.”
Bronze for Bart
Swings brought home bronze in 6:13.06, just 0.45 ahead of Jorrit Bergsma (NED).
“I’m very happy with my 5000m today,” the Belgian said. “I knew I had to go in fast. Of course, it was an advantage to skate in the same pair with Patrick, but it was an advantage for him to, because I gave him a draft on the backstretch a couple of times too.”
Bart Swings celebrates his bronze medal in Heerenveen @ISU
The Olympic Mass Start Champion loves to compete in the classical distances too: “From a Mass Start it’s difficult to tell if you’re getting stronger, because of the nature of the event. In the 1500m or the 5000m you can measure yourself as a skater. That’s why I keep putting energy in that too, and also because I think I can win prizes, as I proved today.”
Great start for Canadian sprinters
Canada’s Christopher Fiola, Laurent Dubreuil, and Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu (CAN) won the Team Sprint in 1:19.26. The Netherlands (Wesly Dijs, Hein Otterspeer, Merijn Scheperkamp) took silver in 1:19.67 and Norway (Bjørn Magnussen, Henrik Fagerli Rukke, Håvard Lorentzen) finished third in 1:19.80.
Canada's men got off to a winning start in Heerenveen with victory in the Team Sprint @ISU
“It’s a great race to begin the weekend,” Gélinas-Beaulieu said. The Canadian still faces the Team Pursuit on Friday, the 1500m on Saturday and the 1000m on Sunday.
Dubreuil was also happy to start the tournament with a win: “There’s more races to come, but this is one in the bag already.”
Program
The World Single Distance Championships start with the 3000m for Women, the 5000m for Men and the Team Sprint events for both genders on Thursday. On the following two days the program is similar for both genders. Friday features the Team Pursuit and the 500m, and Saturday starts with the Mass Start semi-finals, followed by the 1000m, to conclude with the Mass Start finals. On Sunday both genders will contest the 1500m gold, before the event closes off with the 10,000m for men and the 5000m for women.
Where to Watch
Viewers will be able to watch the races via their national broadcasters’ channel. For countries where there are no broadcasters, the ISU will offer a live stream on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel. You will find the full list on the Where to Watch webpage.
Subscribe to the ISU Newsletter to receive the latest information about events, and to the Skating ISU YouTube Channel to receive notifications when live streams start or new videos are published.
For further information on the ISU World Speed Skating Championships, visit the event webpage here.