© AFP
On the first final day of the Short Track World Cup competitions in Seoul, Hanne Desmet won the 1000 meters. It was her third victory of the season, after two victories in Montreal in the 1500 meters.
The 27-year-old Desmet defeated the American Kristen Santos–Griswold with a difference of one hundredth of a second. The 1000 meters is the distance at which Desmet won Olympic bronze in Beijing almost two years ago.
She followed the Dutch Xandra Velzeboer in the final and attacked one lap before the end. Santos had to come from too far to pass the Mechelen. Velzeboer came third. Desmet’s younger brother Stijn (25) won the B final in the 1500 meters.
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Hanne Desmet started the day at the far from sold-out Mokdong Ice Rink with a victory in the quarter-finals, but in the semi-final battle she was only ahead of Santos-Griswold. Stijn Desmet rode attentively in the semi-finals, but at the finish he had to acknowledge his superiority in his Canadian training partners William Dandjinou and Felix Roussel.
Of the eight Belgian short trackers, sister and brother Desmet were the only ones who qualified for the afternoon session. Despite professional preparation in Canada, where the Belgian selection trains with the world‘s best riders, they do not yet have the level to skate in the quarter and semi-finals.
Also success in repayment
Later in the day, the Belgian mixed relay quartet won the B final. Three quarters of an hour after she won the 1000 meters, Hanne Desmet played the decisive role in the mixed relay. In her second turn she brought the Belgian quartet from third to first place after Tineke den Dulk’s tap. Adriaan Dewagtere and Stijn Desmet then completed the work.
The general strategy in the mixed is that Hanne Desmet ensures that Belgium comes forward and that finisher Stijn Desmet completes the matter. Den Dulk and the second man (this time Dewagtere) try to follow. The substitution options are minimal, because Van Riel does not have a third fast woman in his team.
In this weekend’s overall ranking, this means fifth place for the team of national coach Ingmar van Riel. The A-final was won by the Netherlands after two attempts. Italy finished second. South Korea and the United States shared third place. Belgium retains sixth place in the World Cup rankings. It was the third time that Belgium won the B final this season.