The World championship “Allround” for women through time
Since 1936 the ISU organizes Allround championships for women. In the beginning the women competed on four distances: 500 metros, 3000 metros, 1500 metros and 5000 metros. From 1956 the 5000 metros has been substituted by the 1000 metros but since 1982 the distances are the same as in the beginning.
Till 1987 the skater who won 3 distances became World champion “Allround” but if no one won three distances the winner was the skater for whom the weighted average over the times made on the four distances was the lowest. In 1987 the first rule was removed and the winner was only determined on the basis of the lowest total time spend for the four distances. In the table below we have presented for each country that won at least one gold medal in these championships their results in the different periods.
Till 1987 the skater who won 3 distances became World champion “Allround” but if no one won three distances the winner was the skater for whom the weighted average over the times made on the four distances was the lowest. In 1987 the first rule was removed and the winner was only determined on the basis of the lowest total time spend for the four distances. In the table below we have presented for each country that won at least one gold medal in these championships their results in the different periods.
If we first look at the total number of gold medals that was won by the different countries then we can see that the USSR, Holland, the DDR and Germany were the most important gold diggers. If we look at all medals, including silver and bronze, the picture is the same except that also Norway won a large number of silver and bronze medals (14). I have chosen the periods in such a way that one clearly can observe the superiority or not of a specific country in each period. About these different periods I would like to say something more.
The period before and after the First World War 1936 – 1947
We see that speed skating started much later for women than for men. They started for men already in 1889, for women 47 years later. There was certainly a prejudice against women in the sport as I have described before. When the first speed skating championship “Alround” was organized Kit Klein won this championship while the next two were won by the Norwegian Laila Schou Nilsen and the last two, one before the begin of the war and one after the war, were won by the Finnish skater Verné Leche.
The Russian hegemony 1948 -1966
During this period of 18 years all championships except one were won by Russian skaters while mostly the silver and the bronze medals were also for Russian skaters. On the photo you see the first Russian trio that won gold, silver and bronze.
It will be clear that in the USSR in that period the skating was on a much higher level than in all other countries. The climate in Russia provided them with ample opportunities for training over longer periods. This was not the case in other countries at that time. Maria Isakova started this series and won three times gold in Allround championships. Even better did Inga Atamonova who won four times gold and two times silver on the World Allround championships. I will pay extra attention to her later. Besides that there were several other Russian skaters who won this championship. Only in 1951 there was no Russian girl on the podium. In that year all medals were won by Finnish skaters.
We see that speed skating started much later for women than for men. They started for men already in 1889, for women 47 years later. There was certainly a prejudice against women in the sport as I have described before. When the first speed skating championship “Alround” was organized Kit Klein won this championship while the next two were won by the Norwegian Laila Schou Nilsen and the last two, one before the begin of the war and one after the war, were won by the Finnish skater Verné Leche.
The Russian hegemony 1948 -1966
During this period of 18 years all championships except one were won by Russian skaters while mostly the silver and the bronze medals were also for Russian skaters. On the photo you see the first Russian trio that won gold, silver and bronze.
It will be clear that in the USSR in that period the skating was on a much higher level than in all other countries. The climate in Russia provided them with ample opportunities for training over longer periods. This was not the case in other countries at that time. Maria Isakova started this series and won three times gold in Allround championships. Even better did Inga Atamonova who won four times gold and two times silver on the World Allround championships. I will pay extra attention to her later. Besides that there were several other Russian skaters who won this championship. Only in 1951 there was no Russian girl on the podium. In that year all medals were won by Finnish skaters.
The first artificial ice generation 1967-1974
In 1961 the first ice rink with artificial ice was opened in the Netherlands. This gave the people the opportunity to train daily from October till March. Given that skating was still extremely popular in the Netherlands it is not surprising that also some female skaters realized good times in national championships. Especially three women were rather successful: Stien Kaizer, Ans Schut and Carry Geijssen. However that did not mean that they got an opportunity of the Dutch skating union to compete internationally or that they were supported in the same way as the men. It was for them a hard struggle to get the recognition they deserved and then they indeed made their results internationally and were proud that they realized in 1968 a complete Dutch podium. In 1972 came another Dutch skater to the top, Atje Keulen Deelstra, a mother of three children became four times world champion Alround before she stopped with speed skating internationally but continued with marathon skating. This gave other nations an opportunity to take over again the lead in the Allround championships.
In 1961 the first ice rink with artificial ice was opened in the Netherlands. This gave the people the opportunity to train daily from October till March. Given that skating was still extremely popular in the Netherlands it is not surprising that also some female skaters realized good times in national championships. Especially three women were rather successful: Stien Kaizer, Ans Schut and Carry Geijssen. However that did not mean that they got an opportunity of the Dutch skating union to compete internationally or that they were supported in the same way as the men. It was for them a hard struggle to get the recognition they deserved and then they indeed made their results internationally and were proud that they realized in 1968 a complete Dutch podium. In 1972 came another Dutch skater to the top, Atje Keulen Deelstra, a mother of three children became four times world champion Alround before she stopped with speed skating internationally but continued with marathon skating. This gave other nations an opportunity to take over again the lead in the Allround championships.
The first interim period 1975 – 1981
In these 7 years the Russians came to the top again but they were not so strong as before and had to share the gold medals with other upcoming countries like the USA, Canada and especially the DDR that would take over the lead in the next period.
The hegemony of the DDR 1982 – 1990
In this period the skaters of the DDR won all championships “Allround” often not only the gold medal but also the silver medal. Two skaters were especially responsible for these successes: Karin Enke and Andrea Ehrig. They confused the audience by regularly changing their names and husbands but it is certain that Karin Enke won 5 times gold and 2 times silver while Andrea Ehrig won 2 times gold and 4 times silver. Both collected several medals in the Olympic games of 1984
.I have seen these sport women skating several years in Davos and was impressed by their speed and endurance (see my video at the left side.They trained much faster and longer than their colleagues of other countries. Therefore, I was convinced that they would win the gold medals in the Olympic games of 1988 like in 1984
In 1988 Karin Enke, who had just won the Allround world title again, was in the first distance, 3000 meters, so afraid of the competition of her team mate Andrea Ehrig that she started much too fast and got a collapse in the last part and so did not collect the expected gold medals at this distance and some other distances as well. Andrea Ehrig skated a new world record with nearly 5 seconds. This remarkable event can be seen in this video at the right.
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When this happened what the video shows, I thought that now other skaters will get a chance and that was indeed the case. The Dutch Yvonne van Gennip was even faster than Andrea Ehrig and won this race and even 2 more gold medals that should normally have gone to the DDR skaters.
This was the announcement of a take over at the top but not by Dutch skaters but by two other skaters of the DDR that became in 1991 a part of Germany.
This was the announcement of a take over at the top but not by Dutch skaters but by two other skaters of the DDR that became in 1991 a part of Germany.
The superiority of the DDR skaters did not stop with the end of the DDR 1991 – 2002
In 1991 there was indeed a change in the top of the ranking of female speed skaters. However, in the period of 1991 till 2002 it were still former DDR skaters, Gunda Niemann and Claudia Pechstein who took over. Gunda Niemann would win 8 times gold in the World championships all round and 2 times silver while Claudia Pechstein had to accept the unpleasant honor to win only once gold but 8 times silver and 2 times bronze on the World Allround championships. |
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They also collected a lot of medals at the diverse Olympic games. In the ranking of all skaters (by Sierksma and Snoep) Gunda Niemann is still number 1 and Claudia Pechstein who is now (in 2017) still participating in the international championships, is number 5. In the video we see with how much power Gunda Niemann skated and how much more controlled Claudia Pechstein is skating.
The second interim period 2003-2008
In this period several countries won the gold medal in the World championships “Allround”. Three Dutch skaters won gold but if there was one skaters that showed her superiority in speed skating then it was the Canadan skater Cindy Klassen who won twice in the period the Allround title in 2003 and 2006 and silver in 2005. In 2004 she could not participate due to a severe accident on the ice. Her most successful year was 2006 when she won besides the Allround title also 5 medals in the Olympic games in Turin.
These results brought her at the top of the adelskalender (the ranking on the basis of the total time on the 4 standard distances the Allround championships) and this position she still holds now in 2017.
In this period several countries won the gold medal in the World championships “Allround”. Three Dutch skaters won gold but if there was one skaters that showed her superiority in speed skating then it was the Canadan skater Cindy Klassen who won twice in the period the Allround title in 2003 and 2006 and silver in 2005. In 2004 she could not participate due to a severe accident on the ice. Her most successful year was 2006 when she won besides the Allround title also 5 medals in the Olympic games in Turin.
These results brought her at the top of the adelskalender (the ranking on the basis of the total time on the 4 standard distances the Allround championships) and this position she still holds now in 2017.
The Sablikova and Wüst period 2009 -2017
From 2009 till 2017 all world championships “Allround” have been won by the Czechian Martina Sablikova or the Dutch Irene Wüst. Before 2009 Martina Sablikova had already won several times long distances with world record times but when she also improved her times on the shorter distances she also won in 2009 for the first time an Allround world championship. She repeated this in 2010 but after that Irene Wüst took the lead by winning the Allround championship 4 times in a row being considerable better on the shorter distances and improved het longer distances. The last two times Sablikova won again the gold in the Allround world championships. At the moment they are clearly the two best female skaters of the world and it is hard to predict who will win in 2017. Both have now reached the top of the Adelskalender but they still have to accept that Cindy Klassen keeps the top position which shows her formidable superiority even though she won less gold medals than the two present stars.
Let us finish with a very nice video that illustrates very well the qualities of these two top skaters Matina Sablikova and Irene Wüst.
From 2009 till 2017 all world championships “Allround” have been won by the Czechian Martina Sablikova or the Dutch Irene Wüst. Before 2009 Martina Sablikova had already won several times long distances with world record times but when she also improved her times on the shorter distances she also won in 2009 for the first time an Allround world championship. She repeated this in 2010 but after that Irene Wüst took the lead by winning the Allround championship 4 times in a row being considerable better on the shorter distances and improved het longer distances. The last two times Sablikova won again the gold in the Allround world championships. At the moment they are clearly the two best female skaters of the world and it is hard to predict who will win in 2017. Both have now reached the top of the Adelskalender but they still have to accept that Cindy Klassen keeps the top position which shows her formidable superiority even though she won less gold medals than the two present stars.
Let us finish with a very nice video that illustrates very well the qualities of these two top skaters Matina Sablikova and Irene Wüst.