Timothy Loubineaud, a French speed skater, made history at the ISU Speed Skating World Cup's season opener in Salt Lake City. He shattered the men's 5,000-meter world record with an astonishing time of 6:00.23, surpassing the previous mark set by Nils van der Poel of Sweden. Loubineaud's achievement is even more remarkable considering his background. He transitioned to speed skating from inline skating just seven years ago and admitted to being less talented compared to his competitors, including Sven Kramer and Patrick Roest. But on the day, he found an unexpected strength, saying, 'I started the race, and I didn't care about the time. I was just going. After a few laps, I don't know what happened, but I felt so good and I just kept improving the pace.'
In other events, the men's 1,000-meter race saw American skater Jordan Stolz, a two-time gold medalist at the World Championships, dominate the field. He clocked a winning time of 1:05.66, just 0.29 seconds behind his own record on the same track. The women's 1,000-meter race was a close affair, with Dutch skaters Jutta Leerdam and Femke Kok renewing their rivalry. Leerdam emerged victorious by a margin of just 0.08 seconds. Canada's Beatrice Lamarche achieved her first World Cup podium finish, securing third place.
The women's 3,000-meter race was won by Dutch world champion Joy Beune, who posted a personal best of 3:53.69. Canada's Valerie Maltais claimed silver, and Norway's Ragne Wiklund finished third. The Salt Lake City stop is a crucial part of the qualification process for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympic Winter Games, with more competitions scheduled for Saturday.
