phelps

Lead Finals Live right now...here:

IFSC World Cup, Stage #7 (Villars, SUI) Women's Lead 1st, Janja Garnbret (SLO) 2nd, Jessica Pilz (AUT) 3rd, Kim Ja-In (KOR) Men's Lead 1st, Jakob Schubert (AUT) 2nd, Romain Desgranges (FRA) 3rd, Tomoa Narasaki (JPN) Women's Speed 1st, Anouck Joubert (FRA) 2nd, Victoire Andrier (FRA) 3rd, Mariia Krasavina (RUS) Men's Speed 1st, Alexandr Shikov (RUS) 2nd, Alexandr Shilov (RUS) 3rd, Danyil Boldyrev (UKR)

just another ordinary day in Tampere, but with some exciting races despite the not so amazing clockings (except for Kolesnikov's show on both the 200m and, above all, the 50m Back) and another event with 2 swimmers tied for Gold... Today's champions: Men's 200m Backstroke: Kliment Kolesnikov, 1.55.83 Women's 200m Freestyle: Isabel Marie Gose, 1.58.17 Women's 100m Fly: Emily Large tied with Anastasiya Shkurdai, 59.37 Men's 800m Freestyle: Akos Kalmar, 7.55.41 (best race of the day, with 5 guys in less than 2 secs and just 40 1/100 of a sec between 2nd and 4th ranked) Women's 50m Freestyle: Freya Anderson, 25.35 Men's 50m Backstroke: Kliment Kolesnikov, 24.52 (best performance of the day) Mixed 4*100m Medley Relay: Russia, 3.47.99 in the medal table Russia (13 Golds) are quietly flying away from Hungary (9 Golds), with GBR trying to close down on the second spot (6 Golds now). and finally Germany and Belarus extend the Gold Medal club (now with 7 different Nations, still the lowest number ever)

Inline Speedskating Finally the 24 athletes that will compete at the Olympics for the very first time ever have been announced. After the lap sprint semifinals, they have been presented to the audience crowding the road circuit and live on World Skate TV. On next october these faboulous 24 athletes will compete in the 2018 Buenos Aires YOG for the Olympic Gold Medal in the Combined: 500mt+D sprint, 1.000mt sprint and 5.000mt Elimination. Junior Ladies Gabriela Rueda Rueda, 114 pt Honorine Barrault, 108 pt Giorgia Valanzano, 106 pt Nerea Langa, 96 pt Ashly Marín Torres, 89 pt Angelina Otto, 77 pt Corinne Stoddard, 71 pt Marit Van Beijnum, 71 pt Lee Ye Rim, 71 pt Wang Kuan-Chih, 71 pt Fernanda Illanes Cabrera, 50 pt Giselle Stogdale, 44 p Junior Men Jhonny Angulo, 103 pt Ewen Foussadier, 103 pt Merijn Scheperkamp, 95 pt Vincenzo Maiorca, 94 pt Nahuel Schelling Quevedo, 81 pt Jong In Cheon, 79 pt Ivan Galar, 78 pt Sabien Tinson, 70 pt Chen Tao, 67 pt Chang Chia-Wei, 64 pt Ignacio Mardones Vidal, 63 pt Alexander Myint, 11 pt

2018 Freestyle Skating World Championships (Arnhem, NED) Day #1 In the opening day the athletes competed in the Slide and Freejump competitions. The Women Slide seemed to be all about Russia, with Natalia Krykova and Olga Fokina in a head-to-head but some imperfections costed, once again, the podium to Fokina. Hotsko Bohdana - Ukraina got the Silver medal and Nichakan Chinupun, the defending Champion, got the bronze. Gold - Natalia Krykova - RUSSIA Silver Hotsko Bohdana - UKRAINA Bronze - Nichakan Chinupun - THAINLAND In the Slide Men, the Gold Medal released Enrique Rubio Mesa - Spain, from the third place in Nanjing in 2017: Silver went to Denis Shirobokov - Russia and Bronze to Puhri Senarat - Thainland. Gold - Enrique Rubio Mesa - SPAIN Silver - Denis Shirobokov - RUSSIA Bronze - Puhri Senarat - THAINLAND The Jump competitions closed the first day. Three European countries on the ladies podium. With 8 attempts and 122 cm, Marina Oliveras got the Gold Medal; followed at 120 cm by Conan Maeliss from France. Elisa Poli, from Italy, got the Bronze as she stopped at 100cm. Gold - Marina Oliveras Argibay - SPAIN Silver - Maeliss Conan - FRANCE Bronze - Elisa Poli - ITALY The guys flied high and Florian Petitcollin reached the 155cm. Alessio Bianzale and Matteo Pallazzi stopped at 140 cmt. Gold - Florian Petitcollin - FRANCE Silver - Alessio Bianzale - ITALY Bronze - Matteo Pallazzi - ITALY Click here for results and more Podcasts are available at www.worldskate.tv The competitions will be live on www.worldskate.tv

Day #5 Recap and finally a Gold medal for the worst Italian World Championship ever... 10.000 points Junior Women It has been a strategic race in which the athletes moved back and forward in the pack to gain points and preserve the stamina. The Colombians lead the first part of the competitions, then moved back to the middle of the "peloton". Dupuy from France took advantage of the situation and gained points that put her at the top of the rank. At 7 laps to go, the Colombians got back to the lead of the pack and easily got points after points. In the run for the bronze it was all about Stoddard (USA) and Dupuy that, by winning the final rush, got the third position. Gold - Maria Renteria Rodriguez - COLOMBIA Silver -Valentina Moreno Pinzon- COLOMBIA Bronze - Marie Dupuy - FRANCE In the 10.000 points Junior Men the strategy was an easy one: try to get the more points you can. The Ecuadorian David Moscoso Sarmiento had 18 points at nine laps to go, followed by Adrion Workman - USA at 15. Said Vidal, Chile, had only 6 points and was defending the bronze against Ewen Foussadier, France and Jordi Van Workum, who was wishing to win another medal for the Hosting country. The Orange came back and, warmly supported by the crowd, got the Bronze. Gold - David Moscoso Sarmiento - ECUADOR Silver - Adrion Workman - USA Bronze - Jordi Van Workum - NETHERLANDS 20.000mt Elimination Senior Women This is that a kind of race in which the team strategy is really important: you have to cooperate with your team mate to preserve the position in the "peloton". In the start there was quite nervosism in the pack. South Korean Lee Seul started in an attack surprising the other athletes as it was at the very beginning of the race. Soon Francesca Lollobrigida, supported by her sister and team mate Giulia, started to lead the pack, followed by the two Colombians, Viveros and Arias, in a long lasting duel. Francesca Lollobrigida was looking for thee Gold medal that, till now, didn't arrive in these worlds. Mareika Thum, from Germany, and Sandrine Tas - Belgium, tried to find their place in this battle. The six athletes interchanged in the leading whilst there were many fights in the middle of the peloton. Dan Guo, the Chinese champion, got eliminated at 38 laps to go. A crash soon after the following elimination involved Hyosook Woo - South Korea and she had to leave the circuit. The Lollobrigida sisters took the lead of the peloton lighting a fire under the group. Mannon Kamminga, the Orange Champion back to activity after a sabbatical, got eliminated: she seemed to be in a good shape but it was to early to be competitive in this kind of competition. At 12 laps to go Giulia Lollobrigida has been eliminated: she was supporting hard her sister and for Francesca the race became more complicated since then. On next elimination, Sandrine Tas left the circuit. Three laps to go and Francesca started an attack followed by the two girls from Colombia. At two laps to go, Francesca is between the two colombians. Fabriana Arias started the sprint but Francesca did not give up and in the last rush got the gold. "I really wanted to win and, together with my sister, we worked very well. This Medal goes to my mother who is in the hospital" Gold - Francesca Lollobrigida - ITALY Silver - Johana Viveros - COLOMBIA Bronze - Fabriana Arias - COLOMBIA 20.000 elimination Senior Men Since the beginning Colombia, Italy, Usa, France, Spain, Portugal really fought hard in a nervous race. Giuseppe Bramante - Italy was always protecting the back of his team mate Daniel Niero, whilst the Colombians had to take care of the two guys from Netherlands leading the pack. Bart Swings was in the middle of the two teams. Bramante tried to avoid the elimination with a rush and fighting hard, but he was eliminated by fault. Daniel Niero was left alone leading the group with the Orange guys, the two Colombians and Bart Swings. Crispijin Arien - Netherlands and his team mate Gry Hekman were in the lead poushing hard to keep the position. The speed increased at 6 laps to go with six skaters close each other: the two Colombians, Daniel Niero, Bart Swings, the defending champion Nolan Beddiaf from France and David Morell - Spain. In the last lap Swings, Nolan and Niero start a breathtaking final rush. Gold - Bart Swings - BELGIUM Silver - Daniel Niero - ITALY Bronze - Nolan Beddiaf - FRANCE One lap Junior Ladies On the starting line: Anais Pedroni -Italy, Valeria Rodriguez Lopez - Colombia, Yue Chi Peng - Chinese Taipei and Mathilde Pedronno. Bad start for the Colombian but she gained the Gold Medal without any esitation. Anais Pedroni had a very good start that allowed her to get the Silver Medal; Bronze for Mathilde Pedronno. Gold - Valeria Rodriguez Lopez - COLOMBIA Silver - Anais Pedroni - ITALIA Bronze - Mathilde Pedronno - FRANCE One Lap Junior Men Alejandro Huertas Vergara - Colombia, Baptiste Allain - France, Vincenzo Maiorca - Italy and Sabien Tinson - USA on the starting line. Vergara leaded the race and Tinson really struggled to come back but, due to a bad start, he had to be happy with the silver; bronze for the Italian Vincenzo Maiorca. Gold - Alejandro Huerta Vergara - COLOMBIA Silver - Sabien Tinson - USA Bronze - Vincenzo Maiorca - ITALY

Day #4 Recap The first final competition in the afternoon was the 20.000 Elimination Junior Women: a long distance race in which the team strategy and the endurance can make the difference. At 8 laps to go Colombia, France, and Italy has two athletes in the race. Edda Paluzzi cannot help her teammate anymore and Anais Pedroni was left alone to push against the Colombians. It was then the turn of the Mexican girls to leave. Honorine Barrault, the France girl who crashed at the beginning of the race, is still in the run at the last lap when her teammate Marie Dupuy has been eliminated. The Colombians started the final rush: Nathalia Bermudez crossed first, Corinne Stoddard - USA, second and Gabriela Rueda Rueda third. Gold - Nathalia Bermudez - COLOMBIA Silver - Corinne Stoddard - USA Bronze - Gabriela Rueda Rueda - COLOMBIA It was then the turn of the Junior men on the long distance competition. North Koreans and Colombians lead the first part of the race: usually Colombia is not so strong in endurance competitions, but in the sunny and hot Arnhem they really spent all their energies. After 10 km the pack is still quite solid. There was a bad crash in the middle of the pack but it involved only Mathieu Belloir from France. At 6 laps to go, Jason Sutteles - Belgium, tried to come back but he felt down in a crash involving Inho Choi - South Korea, and slowed down the other athletes in the middle of the pack. Andres Bello Quemba - Colombia, tried to go ahead but Jordy Van Workum - Netherlands, came back with all his energy and became 2018 World Champion in 20.000 Elimination: Gold - Jordy Van Workum - NETHERLANDS Silver - Andres Bello Quemba - COLOMBIA Bronze - Joel Guacho Zamora - ECUADOR The Senior competitions started with the 10.000mt points. In the women race, there was a head-to-head between Francesca Lollobrigida and Johana Viveros: once again in these worlds, Lollobrigida was not able to get the Gold, lost for just one point. Mareika Thu, got the bronze thanks to better time over Yang, Arias and Halbout. Head-to-Head also in the men race between the Colombian Daniel Martinez and Diogo Marreiros from Portugal both with 12 points: the colombian won for the better time; bronze for Bart Swings with 11 points. Nothing to do for Daniel Niero - Italy. 10.000mt points Senior Women Gold - Johana Viveros - COLOMBIA Silver - Francesca Lollobrigida - ITALY Bronze - Mareike Thum - GERMANY 10.000mt points Senior Men Gold - Daniel Zapata Martinez - COLOMBIA Silver - Diogo Marreiros - PORTUGAL Bronze - Bart Swings - BELGIUM The 1 Lap sprint of the Senior Categories closed the first day in Arnhem for the road Circuit: a very quick competition in which a good start can define the final results. On the starting line for Senior Women: the two Colombians Andrea Canon and Yesenia Escobar, the Italian Giulia Bongiorno and Erin Jackson from USA. In the Men race we had on the starting line: Simon Albrecht from Germany, Michel Mulder - Netherlands and the two Colombians Pedro Causil and Edwin Estrada. One Lap Sprint Senior Women Gold - Andrea Canon - COLOMBIA Silver - Yesenia Escobar - COLOMBIA Bronze - Erin Jackson - USA One Lap Sprint Senior Men Gold - Edwin Estrada - COLOMBIA Silver - Simon Albrecht - GERMANY Bronze - Pedro Causil - COLOMBIA

it's destiny...this year the EJC do not have the quality we've seen in the past in this event, at least at the top (in any case, 3 CR were broken, 2 of them in individual races)... however, today we have the best performance of the championships so far, even if a super-talent like Milak is still well above his own standard... the champions of day #3: Men's 200m Fly: Kristof Milak, 1.53.94 Women's 200m Breastroke: Anastasia Makarova, 2.26.29 Men's 100m Freestyle: Tomer Frankel, 49.23 Men's 200m IM: Thomas Dean, 1.59.17 Women's 50m Backstroke: Daria Vaskina, 27.90 Men's 50m Breastroke: Vladislav Gerasimenko, 28.03 Women's 1500m Freestyle: Ajna Kesely, 16.21.19 Men's 4*200m Free Relay: Israel, 7.16.28 Women's 4*100m Medley Relay: Great Britain, 4.02.48 in the medal table, Russia widen their lead with 10 Golds, Hungary follow with 8, GBR try to keep the pace and jump to 4, meanwhile Israel make their entry in style with 2 Gold medals in a single session (and Denis Loktev seems to be the big favourite in the men's individual 200m free, after being the only swimmer capable of 1.47.x in the first leg of today's relay)...

well, she's good 30cm below her best...not that impressive, in the end... and I don't understand why Musci did give up a safe Gold in Discus Throw (probably the only 1 Italy could count on) to try the Shot Put, where he has at least 2 (if not more) opponents better than him on paper... meanwhile, disaster by our boys and girls in the sprint races...

just another ordinary day in Tampere... only 3 CR broken and no "adult" times, even by a guy like Kolesnikov... no comment on the absolute disaster performed by Italy...almost nobody is even getting close to the expectations (and their PBs) so far, especially the supposed "big guns"... Today's Champions: Men's 100m Backstroke: Kliment Kolesnikov tied with Daniel-Cristian Martin, 53.52 Women's 400m Free: Ajna Kesely, 4.05.89 Women's 200m Fly: Blanka Berecz, 2.10.06 Women's 100m Free: Freya Anderson, 54.65 Men's 200m Breastroke: Alexandr Zhigalov, 2.12.47 (which is the same time clocked by Alessandro Fusco, today only 5th, in yesterday's semifinals ) Women's 200m Backstroke: Anastasia Avdeeva, 2.09.56 Men's 1500m Free: Akos Kalmar, 15.04.91 Mixed 4*100m Free Realy: Russia, 3.28.74 in the medal table, so far we have only 4 Countries capable of winning Gold: Russia with 7, Hungary with 6, Great Britain with 2 and Romania with "only" 1 (and tied with another guy)...all the rest of Europe is still missing...

OK, thanks for all the explaination...

yes, it really because of what @Gianlu33 wrote... and it's done because track and road results are not properly comparable, with the first being always a lot quicker (and there are a lo of reasons because of that)...

another bid (almost) gone, I'd say...

Yesterday in Day #1 there were no particularly surprising clockings, despite people like Kristof Milak or Ajna Kesely or Kliment Kolesnikov at the start of many races... Yesterday's Gold medals went to: Women's 400m IM: Ajna Kesely, 4.41.55 Men's 400m Freestyle: Kristof Milak, 3.50.00 Men's 50m Fly: Andrei Minakov, 23.56 Women's 50m Breastroke: Tatiana Belonogoff, 31.29 Women's 800m Freestyle: Ajna Kesely, 8.30.43 Men's 4*100m Free Relay: Russia, 3.18.21 Women's 4*100m Free Realy: Russia, 3.43.03

Full Results availbale here: http://ejc2018.microplustiming.com/indexEJC2018_web.php Live Streaming: https://www.dailymotion.com/lentv

Swimming LEN Junior European Championships 2018 Tampere (FIN) - 4 July 2018 - 8 July 2018 Totallympics Results Thread

yes, and it was a great result for us... by the way, I think Piroddu should have won the semifinal bout against the Uzbek Marfunov, first because he wrestled better than his opponent (he got even close to pin him down after 40 secs, but the Uzbek guy somehow managed to escape from Piroddu's move, so our wrestler only got 2 points -and maybe he should have got 4, too, but I'm not that expert in technicalities to be sure of that) and second because the last move with only 1 second to go should have given him 2 points (and the consequential victory after a 5-5 tie), meanwhile the judges only gave him 1 point (so he lost 5-4 in the end)... however, when I see an Italian born and trained wrestler making the podium I'm always very happy... p.s. however, this medal doesn't make me fully confident for the future, since I've already seen Giovanni Freni winning the world cadet title (in GR), but not being able to translate that result even at junior level (even if he's still sub-20, so maybe at the next Junior Worlds in Rome he could do what he hasn't been able to do in the last 2 years yet)...

well, Cortina should be named "Dolomite region"...however, they have the least chances to be chosen because of the very, very low budget (around 380 million € only) and of the very wide spreading of venues (among others, Hockey in Bozen/Bolzano, Figure Skating and Short Track in Meran, which is a small village and has a very small arena and old style that I don't think has room to be temporarily enlarged for the games Biathlon in Antholz/Anterselva and Nordic disciplines in the existing facilities of Predazzo -Jumping Hills- and Tesero Lake -Cross Country skiing...the only good thing would be the renaissance of the legendary sliding sports track)... Turin would be more or less a remake of 2006...basically all the projected venues in fact are the same of 12 years ago (revamping of the Cesana track included), the only new structure would be the Olympic Village... Milan (which is the preferred choice of our NOC and the only candidature with at least a small chance to succed, but we have to see what our government thinks about it, since they're in charge also in the Turin local administration, meanwhile Milan has another political lead at the moment...and for what it counts, it will never go to the 5 Star Movement ) would see the sliding sports and Ski Jumping/Nordic Combined events in Switzerland (Sankt Moritz, it's official...they already signed a letter of intent for that), the ice sports in town (as the ceremonies, in San Siro Stadium) and the Alpine Sports and Cross Country Skiing in Valtellina: Bormio, Santa Caterina, Livigno and maybe 1 or 2 more villages (which could be a problem for transports, even if from now to 2026 many things could change)... personally...despite being Italian and a proud citizen of Milan, I hope Stockholm would save us from this tragedy (both a sports and an economical tragedy)...

Day #3 Recap With 10 Gold Medals, 7 Silver and 5 Bronze, Colombia rules on the track; South Korea is second and France third. Netherlands won the first medals in the 2018 worlds. The 5.000mt Elimination and the 3.000mt Relays closed the third day on the track with tough and fought races. The 5.000mt Elimination, together with the 500mt+D and the 1.000mt, decides the ranking for the Olympic qualification to the YOG 2018 in Buenos Aires: so the expectations were very high for a race that combines strategy and ability to manage the competition in all the laps. In order to reach the podium you should be able, at the meantime, to stay in the leading half of the group preserving stamina for the sprints. From this point of view, Allison Correa Muneton and Gabriela Rueda skated the perfect race with a great team support: they always managed to keep the second and third position without affecting their energy. Giorgia Valanzano, Italy, tried the final sprint but, on the finish line opposite straight, the two Colombians lengthened their stride and there was nothing left to do. 5.000mt Elimination Junior Ladies Gold - Allison Correa Muneton - COLOMBIA Silver - Gabriela Rueda - COLOMBIA Bronze - Giorgia Valanzano - ITALY In the Junior Men race, after only 4 laps there was a crash involvig a few athletes and the competition became even more tough: the chance to compete for the Olympic medal was around the corner and the guys felt the pressure. 5.000mt Elimination Junior Men Gold - Seongmin An - SOUTH KOREA Silver - Inho Choi - SOUTH KOREA Bronze - Merjin Scheperkamp - NETHERLANDS After the Award Ceremony, the 3.000mt relays were on the scene. For the Junior Ladies, we had on the starting line: Colombia, Italy, Ecuador, Chinese Taipei, South Korea and France. Colombia managed to lead the first laps but at half the competition the Koreans pushed and outrun. At 4 laps to go, Chinese Taipei gained on the leading group and reached the head closely followed by Colombia and South Korea. 3.000mt Relay Junior Women Gold - CHINESE TAIPEI Silver - COLOMBIA Bronze - SOUTH KOREA On the starting line for the Junior Men: France, Netherlands, USA, South Korea, Czech Republic and Chinese Taipei. The first half of the race was all about checking the opponents' resources. France was the first to try the sprint and to leave the others behind, but Korea and Netherlands did not give up and kept the distances short. In the last lap, Korea took the lead and run towards the Gold medal; France got the Silver; Netherlands was close to second podium of the day even though at the lowest step, when USA tried to win the Bronze with a last sprint and a split, but it was an unsuccesful attempt and the Orange kept the position. 3.000mt Relay Junior Men Gold - SOUTH KOREA Silver - FRANCE Bronze - NETHERLANDS On the starting line for the Senior Women: Colombia, Belgium, South Korea, Chile, Germany and Chinese Taipei. Soon after the start, Arias - Colombia - risked a falt due to a touch but she was able to stand and keep on skating. In the duel between Belgium and Chile, Colombia put through followed by Chinese Taipei. At the second lap to last, Chinese Taipei and Chile felt down and had to leave the track for disqualification. Colombia flew away and South Korea can do nothing. Germany got the bronze. 3.000mt Relay Senior Women Gold - COLOMBIA Silver - SOUTH KOREA Bronze - GERMANY On the starting line for the Senior Men: the European Champions - Belgium, Colombia, Chile, France, Argentina and Italy, the defending World Champions. In the first laps, Belgium, Colombia and France pushed more than the others. At 10 laps to go, Italy took the lead and tried to fly away but Colombia chased in a head-to-head that helped France in coming back. 3.000mt Relay Senior Men Gold - FRANCE Silver - COLOMBIA Bronze - ITALY Tomorrow the teams will move to Arnhem to check and test the road circuit before the races starting on the 5th.

Nail Yakupov replaces Ilya Kovalchuk at SKA St.Petersburg in the KHL... https://www.nhl.com/news/former-no-1-nail-yakupov-signs-in-khl/c-299401866

Day #2 Recap Also the second day in Heerde saw great competitions in a warm late afternoon and a large audience crowded the venue to watch the races. Following the schedule and absolutely on time, the Senior Women stroke up the band with one of the most strategic competition in the programme: the 10.000 mt Points/Elimination. Francesca Lollobrigida, from Italy, was the defending champion and, once again, her main rivals were the two Colombian champions, Fabriana Arias and Johana Viveros. But also Sandrine Tas, Mareike Thum and Dan Guo can be dangerous opponents in the run for the gold medal. The race was really fought: Lollobrigida seemed to rule the competition when, at 20 laps to go, Arias and Viveros put in action the team strategy that so many medals gained to Colombia. At 10 laps to go, Arias got already 3 points advantage over Lollobrigida. Lollobrigida tried to earn as points as possible since the very begininning but it was not enough against Arias' steadfastness; bronze medal went to Viveros with one point more than Sandrine Thus. Gold - Fabriana Arias - COLOMBIA Silver - Francesca Lollobrigida - ITALY Bronze - Johana Viveros - COLOMBIA If possible, the Senior Men have been even more spectacular in the following race. Peter Michael, the first to get points, pushed since the very beginning but soon Bart Swings broke away from the group and scored the following three finish lines. The Colombians shortened the distance and Alex Cujavante took the lead whilst, in the meantime, Daniel Niero came back and got his first points. Less than half race was already done when Santiago Roumec jerked forward and scored 6 point in a row - 2 for each finish line he got past first - completely changing the assets of the competition and re-opening the games. Swings intensified the rythm and the speed trying to take the distance from Cujavantes who did not give up and got the lead, turning the situation around. In the last elimination, it was Peter Michael the one who had to leave the track loosing all what he tried to build during the race and, consequentely, the chance to run for the podium. In a breathtaking last lap Daniel Niero successfully tried the final rush and achieved the Bronze medal ahead of Roumec; Silver medal for Bart Swings and Alex Cujavante celebrated the second Gold medal of these Worlds. Gold - Alex Cujavante - COLOMBIA Silver - Bart Swings - BELGIUM Bronze - Daniel Niero - ITALY After the Award Ceremonies, it was the turn of the short distances. In the Junior categories, the 1.000 mt sprint contributes to create the final ranking and the qualification for the Youth Olympic Games that will be held in Buenos Aires in October. Tomorrow, after the 5.000mt Elimination, it will be compiled the list of the 24 athletes that will fly to Argentina to represent their country in the Games. 1.000mt Sprint Junior Ladies Gold - Gabriela Rueda - COLOMBIA Silver - Giorgia Valanzano - ITALY Bronze - Yerim Lee - KOREA 1.000mt Sprint Junior Men Gold - Jongjin Cheon - KOREA Silver - Jan Mende - GERMANY Bronze - Vincenzo Maiorca - ITALY The senior categories closed the day with the 500mt+D race. An Yiseul's double false start made life easier for the other three girls on the starting line: all of them were sure to reach the podium. But it did not make the competitions less amazing and tough. Gold - Vanessa Herzog - Austria Silver - Javiera Vargas - CHILE Bronze - Geiny Pajaro - COLOMBIA In the men competition, it was Jinyoung Kim to cross twice the line and to leave the track. Gold - Pedro Causil - COLOMBIA Silver - Edwin Estrada - COLOMBIA Bronze - Elton De Souza - FRANCE

Day #1 Recap We've got the sun and the music, crowdy grandstands and great competitions: this is Inline Speed Skating! Head-to-head races and true champions putting their hearts into the skates to be, once again or for the very first time, on the top of the world: it was an amazing afternoon in Heerde for the 2018 edition of the Worlds. The Junior Women 10.000mt Elimination/Points was the first final of the day: Colombia got the first two medals thanks to Maria Renteria Rodriguez and Nathalia Bermudez Padilla, bronze for Corinne Stoddard (USA). An accident occured at 45 laps to go and the Italian Edda Paluzzi had to leave the track: fortunately nothing really serious. Gold - Maria Renteria Rodriguez - COLOMBIA Silver - Nathalia Bermudez Padilla - COLOMBIA Bronze - Corinne Stoddard - USA It was the turn of the Junior Men 10.000mt Elimination/Points: Jason Suttels (Belgium) ruled without any esitation all the competition. The fight was all about the other 2 steps of the podium with Michael Gatti from Italy having the better off the two Colombians thanks to one point more. Brayan Virguez Romero won the bronze medal for 6 seconds. Gold - Jason Suttels - BELGIUM Silver - Michael Gatti - ITALY Bronze - Brayan Virguez Romero - COLOMBIA In the long distance races of the Senior categories, well known duels have been staged again.Johana Viveros and Fabriana Arias, both from Colombia got Gold and Bronze and the Silver went to the Chinese Dan Guo in the 15.000mt Elimination Senior Women. Francesca Lollobrigida, representing Italy, has been eliminated at the last lap to go. Gold - Johana Viveros - COLOMBIA Silver - Dan Guo - CHINA Bronze - Brayan Virguez Romero - COLOMBIA In the 15.000mt Elimination Senior Men, Alex Cujavante from Colombia, defended the title against Daniel Niero - Italy. Only bronze for Bart "Swings on the wings". Gold - Alex Cujavante - COLOMBIA Silver - Daniel Niero - ITALY Bronze - Bart Swings - BELGIUM The 500mt+D were the first races for the YOG qualification and, of course, the motivation of the athletes were so high: all of them want to get the "Ticket to Buenos Aires" and the 24 athletes will be ranked after the 1.000mt and 5.000E. On the starting line for the Junior Ladies: Anais Pedroni - Italy, Allison Correa Muneton - Colombia, Yue-Cih Peng - Chinese Taipei and Honorine Barrault from France. Anais Pedroni had a great start leading the group for half the race, but was unable to keep it and arrived third after Muneton: Gold Medal went to Peng. Gold - Yue-Cih Peng - CHINESE TAIPEI Silver - Allison Correa Muneton - COLOMBIA Bronze - Anais Pedroni - ITALY On the starting line for the Junior Men: from Korea, Woonggyu Choi and Jonjiin Cheon, Sabien Tinson - USA, and the Colombian Juan Arango. Gold - Juan Arango - COLOMBIA Silver - Jonjiin Cheon - KOREA Bronze - Woonggyu Choi - KOREA The 1.000mt for the senior categories closed the first day in Heerde. The Ladies fought hard to reach the podium in a tough race that got the public really excited and was finally won by Mareike Thum, followed by Yseul An and Vanessa Hertzog. Nothing to do for the "big": Francesca Lollobrigida has been disqualified for a fault, and the Colombian champions Arias and Escobar didn't reach the medal area. Gold - Mareike Thum - GERMANY Silver - Yseul An - KOREA Bronze - Vanessa Hertzog - AUSTRIA Last but not the least, it was the turn of the Senior Men 1.000mt: one of the most competitive races of the Worlds and, with athletes the likes of Pedro Causil, Andres Munoz, Peter Michael and Bart Swings, the expectations were very high. And they were not disappointed! "Four dogs" strove for a bone and a fifth run away with the "Gold": Gwendal Le Lepivert took advantage of the fight and the "la Marseillaise" played for him. Causil and Munoz got, respectively, Silver and Bronz. Bart Swings has been disquailified and Peter Michael got only the 7th place. Gold - Gwendal Le Lepivert - FRANCE Silver - Pedro Causil - COLOMBIA Bronze - Andres Munoz - COLOMBIA

Full Results available here: http://www.worldskate.org/component/phocadownload/category/237-results.html

2018 Inline Speed Skating World Championships (Herde & Arnhem, NED) 490 athletes from 51 countries reached Netherlands for the 2018 Inline Speed Skating World Championship! Heerde and Arnhem will host, respectively, track and road competitions starting from 1 to 8 July. The track in Heerde staged in the past both European Championships and Cups, but the surface has been completely renewed in the last weeks to guarantee excellent performances during the Worlds: it's a fast and hard circuit that will provide great show to the afecionados coming from all over the world. The road races will be downtown in Arnhem, close to the well known "A Bridge Too Far" and to the Inline Freestyle World Championships circuit where competitions will start on 5 July: a village with a roller disco area, music, food trucks and sport side events will complete the Urban cluster following the new philosophy and mood that will be mainstream of World Skate events. World Skate President Sabatino Aracu opened the preparatory meeting with the team delegates: "This a key year for World Skate: here in Heerde, we will qualify the athletes that will compete for the Olympic Gold in the YOG Buenos Aires. For the first time ever, inline speed skaters will compete at Olympic stage and will have the opportunity to show to the international world, once again, the great appeal our sport has on the youth". The Technical Commission clarified the Qualifying System for the 2018 YOG in Buenos Aires and explained some changes in the competitions that will be effective starting 2019 with the purpose to make the races even more spectacular: the elimination races distances in 2019 will be 10.000 mt in the track and 15.000 mt in the road and in Barcelona, during the WRG, we will welcome the new 200 mt track pursuit. The competitions will be live on www.worldskate.tv Live streaming schedule July 1 18.00 – 18.15 500m+D sprint JW/JM Semifinal 18.15 – 19.15 10000m points/elimination JW/JM Final 19.15 – 19.30 1000m sprint SW/SM Semifinal 19.30 – 20.30 15000m elimination SW/SM Final 20.30 – 21.00 Awards Ceremony 21.00 – 21.15 500m+D sprint JW/JM Final 21.15 – 21.30 1000m sprint SW/SM Final 21.30 – 22.00 Awards Ceremony July 2 19.00 – 19.30 1000m sprint JW/JM and 500m+D sprint SW/SM semifinal 19.30 - 20.10 10000m points/elimination SW/SM Final 20.10 – 20.40 Awards Ceremony 20.40 – 20.55 1000m sprint JW/JM Final 20.55 – 21.10 500m+D sprint SW/SM Final 21.10 -21.40 Awards Ceremony July 3 18.30 – 19.10 5000m elimination JW/JM Final A 19.10 – 19.50 5000m elimination JW/JM Final B 19.50 – 20.30 5000m elimination JW/JM Final C 20.30 – 20.50 Awards Ceremony 20.50 – 21.05 3000m Relays JW/JM Final 21.05 – 21.20 3000m Relays SW/SM Final 21.20 – 21.50 Awards Ceremony July 5 17.15 – 18.45 20000m elimination JW/JM Final 18.45 – 19.15 Lap Circuit Sprint SW/SM Semifinal 19.15 – 20.30 10000m points race SW/SM Final 20.30 – 20.45 Lap Circuit Sprint SW/SM Final 20.45 – 21.45 Awards Ceremony July 6 17.15 – 17.45 Lap Circuit Sprint JW/JM Semifinal 17.45 – 18.45 10000m points race JW/JM Final 18.45 – 19.15 Awards Ceremony 19.15 – 20.30 20000m elimination SW/SM Final 20.30 – 21.00 Lap Circuit Sprint JW/JM Final 21.00 – 22.00 Awards Ceremony July 7 19.00 – 19.15 100m sprint JW/JM Semifinal 19.15 – 19.30 100m sprint SW/SM Semifinal 20.30 – 20.40 100m sprint JW/JM Final 20.40 – 20.50 100m sprint SW/SM Final 20.50 – 21.20 Awards Ceremony

since I don't know him personally, I can't afford to say anything about him off the field...but on the field...well, that's another story...and as I just wrote, he always gives me such a bad impression...it's stronger than myself (it's the same with LeBron James in Basketball, for instance...with the difference being that nobody can deny that on the field he's definitely the best player in the world, meanwhile I can't say the same for Neymar)...