Dennis

Two interesting weeks in Montréal! Next week the Four Continents Championships will be held in  Laval.
 
The World Cup will continue on December 8th with Stage 3 in Beijing and then Stage 4 starting December 15th in Seoul.

ISU World Cup 2023/24 - Montréal (Stage 2/6)
 
Women's 3.000m Relay:
 
01.  South Korea
02.  the Netherlands
03.  United States of America
 
Men's 5.000m Relay:
 
01.  China
02.  Canada
03.  Kazakhstan ()

After about 10 minutes, a decision was taken: a penalty for  for hitting the skater from team  from behind, causing both their own skater and the Korean skater to fall.
 
 indeed won gold,  silver and  bronze.

The women's relay final was pure chaos:   and  fell (first , not much later both  and ). and  missed an exchange because the riders from Canada and the Netherlands were hindering each other.
 
I don't think anyone knows who won. The on screen timing now says  won, but I'm totally not sure.

I was wrong. If you sum the total World Cup points won (excl. relays) in week 1 versus week 2, then Italy is indeed under-performing compared to Stage 1.
 
Most improved are:
 +336 points (796 vs. 460)  +115 points (1143 vs. 1028)  +115 points (716 vs. 601) Biggest decreases:
 -151 points (442 vs. 593)  -142 points (211 vs. 353)  -121 points (243 vs. 364)

I was wrong. If you sum the total World Cup points won (excl. relays) in week 1 versus week 2, then Italy is indeed under-performing compared to Stage 1.
 
Most improved are:
 +336 points (796 vs. 460)  +115 points (1143 vs. 1028)  +115 points (716 vs. 601) Biggest decreases:
 -151 points (442 vs. 593)  -142 points (211 vs. 353)  -121 points (243 vs. 364)

Two interesting weeks in Montréal! Next week the Four Continents Championships will be held in  Laval.
 
The World Cup will continue on December 8th with Stage 3 in Beijing and then Stage 4 starting December 15th in Seoul.

ISU World Cup 2023/24 - Montréal (Stage 2/6)
 
Women's 3.000m Relay:
 
01.  South Korea
02.  the Netherlands
03.  United States of America
 
Men's 5.000m Relay:
 
01.  China
02.  Canada
03.  Kazakhstan ()

After about 10 minutes, a decision was taken: a penalty for  for hitting the skater from team  from behind, causing both their own skater and the Korean skater to fall.
 
 indeed won gold,  silver and  bronze.

The women's relay final was pure chaos:   and  fell (first , not much later both  and ). and  missed an exchange because the riders from Canada and the Netherlands were hindering each other.
 
I don't think anyone knows who won. The on screen timing now says  won, but I'm totally not sure.

I was wrong. If you sum the total World Cup points won (excl. relays) in week 1 versus week 2, then Italy is indeed under-performing compared to Stage 1.
 
Most improved are:
 +336 points (796 vs. 460)  +115 points (1143 vs. 1028)  +115 points (716 vs. 601) Biggest decreases:
 -151 points (442 vs. 593)  -142 points (211 vs. 353)  -121 points (243 vs. 364)

ISU World Cup 2023/24 - Montréal (Stage 2/6)
 
Overall World Cup Standings after Stage 2 - Women:
 Kim Gilli - 455 points  Kristen Santos-Griswold - 400 points  Hanne Desmet - 375 points  Xandra Velzeboer - 305 points  Seo Whimin - 259 points  Courtney Sarault - 259 points  Danae Blais - 245 points  Selma Poutsma - 227 points  Lee Soyoun - 212 points  Rikki Doak - 204 points  
Overall World Cup Standings after Stage 2 - Men:
 Kim Gun Woo - 430 points  Steven Dubois - 330 points  Park Ji Won - 326 points  William Dandjinou - 260 points  Hwang Daeheon - 260 points  Pietro Sighel - 244 points  Luca Spechenhauser - 243 points  Liu Shaoang - 213 points  Jens van 't Wout - 207 points  Pascal Dion - 177 points

ISU World Cup 2023/24 - Montréal (Stage 2/6)
 
Women's 1.000m:
 
01.  Seo Whimin
02.  Danae Blais
03.  Park Jiyun
 
Men's 1.000m:
 
01.  Jens van 't Wout
02.  Hwang Daeheon
03.  Lee Jeongmin
 

ISU World Cup 2023/24 - Montréal (Stage 2/6)
 
Women's 1.500m [2/2]:
 
01.  Hanne Desmet
02.  Kim Gilli
03.  Kristen Santos-Griswold
 
Men's 1.500m [2/2]:
 
01.  Kim Gun Woo
02.  Park Ji Won
03.  Steven Dubois

The women's 1.500m final today was the strongest final so far this season won by  Hanne Desmet .
 
Incredible field here with Desmet, Santos, Kim Gilli, Xandra Velzeboer, Shim Suk Hee, Sarault and Gong Li all in the same race. That's what we want to see!

Yep, a day to remember. 23.10.2023
 
I found this article with 3 sentences, but still better than nothing I guess
 
Korfball - WCh: The match with the Czech Republic was fatal, Slovakia will not play for medals
 
Slovak national Team in korfball will not compete for medals at the WCh in Taiwan. They lost to the Czech Republic 13:21 on Monday in a direct battle for advancement to the quarterfinals. On Tuesday, Slovakia's next match against Catalonia will determine the final position in the super-round Group I. If successful, they will fight for the final 9-12. place, a loss will condemn them to the fights for 13.-16. the place.    

 

New talent spotted in the German national championships, where world junior silver medalist Claudia Pechstein (ok, that was when there was still a large wall standing in Berlin, but still) took home the gold in the 5k. 
https://speedskatingresults.com/index.php?p=3&e=27222&r=10006

ISU World Cup 2023/24 - Montréal (Stage 2/6)
 
Mixed 3.000m Relay:
 
01.  China
02.  the Netherlands
03.  Italy

ISU World Cup 2023/24 - Montréal (Stage 2/6)
 
Women's 500m:
 
01.  Rikki Doak
02.  Selma Poutsma
03.  Martina Valcepina
 
Men's 500m:
 
01.  Jordan Pierre-Gilles
02.  Liu Shaolin
03.  Lin Xiaojun

As has been the case since 2011, and will decide the Olympic quota.

Based on recent results, it's no surprise that Japan and Bahrain made the final and that Japan won. Congrats to them. They're the best team in Asia now, so their qualification is completely deserved.
 
Qatar's team barely won against Iraq twice last July (24-23 and 24-21) and lost to Argentina (22-26) at the World Championships in January, which is a team they would've beaten easily during their peak years. They're not as good anymore as they used to be a couple years ago.

ISU World Cup 2023/24 - Montréal (Stage 2/6)
 
Women's 1.500m [1/2]:
 
01.  Kim Gilli
02.  Kristen Santos-Griswold
03.  Danae Blais
 
Men's 1.500m [1/2]:
 
01.  William Dandjinou
02.  Hwang Daeheon
03.  Kim Gun Woo

ISU World Cup 2023/24 - Montréal (Stage 2/6)
 
Mixed 3.000m Relay:
 
01.  China
02.  the Netherlands
03.  Italy

ISU World Cup 2023/24 - Montréal (Stage 2/6)
 
Women's 500m:
 
01.  Rikki Doak
02.  Selma Poutsma
03.  Martina Valcepina
 
Men's 500m:
 
01.  Jordan Pierre-Gilles
02.  Liu Shaolin
03.  Lin Xiaojun

http://accasia.org/sites/default/files/XCO FINAL RESULT 29_34.pdf
 
China win golds and quotas on both men and women's elite events