Kramer, Wust lead at Allround speedskating worlds

MOSCOW (AP)—Sven Kramer of the Netherlands won the men’s 5,000-meter race with a new track record to top the standings dominated by Dutch skaters after two races at the World Allround Speedskating Championships on Saturday.

Although she has yet to win a race, defending champion Ireen Wust of the Netherlands has not missed the podium in the first two races at Krylatskoye Ice Stadium oval to lead the women’s field.

Kramer, the world record-holder in the 5,000 and 10,000, clocked 6 minutes, 14.22 seconds in the 5,000. He shaved 4.21 seconds off the old mark set by countryman Bob de Jong at a World Cup in January 2011.

Jan Blokhuijsen of the Netherlands was second in 6:16.99, while defending all-around champion Ivan Skoberev of Russia was third at 6:19.78.

Kramer, who finished eighth in the 500 opener, leads the standings with 74.123 points after two races. He is followed by compatriots Blokhuijsen with 74.259 points and Koen Verweij with 74.330.

“The 500-meter (race) was not so good today,” Kramer said. “But 5,000 was a perfect one. It reminded me of my first championships in 2005.”

The then-18-year-old Kramer won his first all-around medal behind Americans Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick here in Moscow in 2005. One more bronze in Calgary was followed by four consecutive overall titles.

Zbigniew Brodka of Poland was timed at 36.24 seconds to win the men’s sprint race. He was just 2-hundredths of a second ahead of Verweij. Brodka’s fellow Pole Konrad Niedzwiedzki came in third at 36.32.

Wust tops the women’s field with 79.818 points after finishing third in the 500 opener and second in the 3,000.

World Cup overall leader Christine Nesbitt, who won the women’s 500 but finished sixth in the second race, was second with 79.891 points. The Canadian was followed by Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic at 80.610.

The Czech, who has been unbeatable in the 3,000 this season, clocked 4:01.80 to claim her fourth victory at the distance. She edged Wust by 69 hundredths of a second. Linda de Vries of the Netherlands was third in 4:07.06.

In the women’s sprint, Nesbitt clocked 38.30 seconds and was followed by Yekaterina Lobysheva of Russia and Wust, 0.65 and 1.07 seconds behind, respectively.

The all-around championships are an endurance test for speedskaters. The champions are determined by their combined results over four races. The women will race the 1,500 and 5,000 on Sunday, while the men compete in the 1,500 and the 10,000.