Zen and the Art of Speedskating

Here is team USA, in some fantastic warmup gear! THANKS US SPEEDSKATING!!!

(the winds of change are blowing, when it comes to US speedskating & masters)

from left to right you have Tom Cole, Myself, Jim Cornell, Marty Haire, Eric Rosario.

Click here for a goofy moment as we were shooting this.

Warmup was CRAZY BUSY!!! 150-ish fast skaters, nervous, and ready to go…

The competition was unusual in some aspects of its setup, 4 races, 500m on Friday, 1500m & 3,000m on Saturday, and the 5, 000 on Sunday..

Races started fast & furious, I was one of the first to go. Gosh I need to round my back more at top speed (this is the final straightaway stroke before the last turn).

The 500 is my best event vs the distance skaters in my age group. I thought I could skate a high 37 if I skated flawlessly, a slip in the first turn, and I went 38.4. Still good enough for 1st in my group, & a solid lead

But for team USA, the story was Marty Haire, who skated an AMAZING 500m, finishing 2nd in the incredibly intense 45-50 age group.

Look at how many there were in the final results!! You can see how tight a 500m race can be-

Marty said he was shaking so badly before his race he worried he would false start. I am going to try and get him to write something for the blog, it’s quite a story.

USA skater Eric Rosario was not so fortunate, injuring his groin 2 steps into his 500m. He actually heard it tear as he went off the line.

His weekend was over before it really had an opportunity to get started.

Eric said he was amazed at how many skaters have come up to him since his injury, expressing their deepest sympathies, sharing injury stories, and wishing him a speedy recovery. He said he has never met a nicer bunch of people that the international masters athletes.

These posts for masters worlds are far better because of his awesome camera work. I gave him my camera, and focused on racing. Thanks Eric!!

Here is a 70+ year old Norwegian-

70+ year old Russian Vladimir Budin. He has more flexibility than any of the US skaters here… wow… These guys are my heroes, and I always stop and watch them skate, so does every other athlete in the competition.

Gunda Niemann-stirnemann, coaching in the rink named after her. I think if I had her yelling for me, that would make me go faster!

She was coaching several of the German masters, and with Italian world champion Roberto Sighel in the competitors, their presence added something important to the event.

Tom “hardcole” Cole & Jim Cornell both had solid 500m races. Jim in 7th place in the 40-45, and Tom skated a personal best 500m, right in the middle of the 45-50 group in 14th.

Tom came here wanting to be in the top half, so he gets to skater the final 5k (only half of the competitors get to), so he is on track

There were no official warmup-warmdown bikes at the rink.

But there was an area you could set up your own, and if you put a bike there, the honor code said it was “available for everyone”.

For example- here is Russian Sergej Avdejev on a Swiss bike.

Ok, I’ve gotta run! More soon! I will finish with a picture of Austrian Herbert Kreutz, at top speed.

Herbert is having the meet of his life, and is in 2nd place overall in the 40-45. He is chasing the Italian 5 time Olympian & world champ Roberto Sighel, both in the standings, and at this very moment in a 500m race.

Filed under: RACE DAY, on the road