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Speed Skating: Bart Swings, World Mass Start Champion
World Champion ! On Saturday afternoon, in Heerenveen, Bart Swings won the only mass start title missing from his prestigious track record. Already two-time European champion (2020 and 2022) and, above all, last year’s Olympic champion, in Beijing, the 32-year-old Lovaniste offered himself the world title in his “garden”, the Thialf of Heerenveen, where he used to train. Bart has set the stage!
At the start of this event, 16 laps of 400 meters, or 6,400 metres, everyone was looking only at our Olympic champion. On the ice, his opponents would crowd each other in skates, thinking they were in the best position to defeat him.
After an attack from the start by New Zealander Peter Michael, saved by Dutchman Jorit Bergsmann, the peloton regrouped with Italians in particular Andrea Giovannini and Daniele Di Stefano while South Korean Jae-won Chung fell halfway. Squad. Fortunately, without gravity for Bart Swings who took over his responsibilities by putting in his decisive attack 600m from the finish.
He still has to hold on to the canister fired after him. But our hero did not triumphantly cross the finish line in 7: 30.99, ahead of the Dutch Hodowerf and the Italian Giovannini. Great art!
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