Norway's Eitrem, Wiklund win speed skating world all-round titles

Norway's Sander Eitrem and Ragne Wiklund captured the men's and women's titles respectively at the ISU Speed Skating World Allround Championships on Sunday, capping a historic day for Norwegian speed skating, reported Xinhua.

Eitrem clinched Norway's first men's world allround crown since Johan Olav Koss won the title in 1994, while Wiklund delivered the country's first women's triumph since Laila Schou Nilsen in 1938.

Eitrem secured the victory after overtaking American Jordan Stolz in the final 10,000 meters event. Stolz had led the standings following the first three distances after finishing runner-up at the World Sprint Championships earlier in the week.

In the decisive race, however, Eitrem produced a powerful performance to clock 12 minutes 41.27 seconds, while Stolz faded to 13:32.28 as the demanding schedule of eight races in four days took its toll.

"Jordan [Stolz] is the best skater in the whole world," Eitrem told the ISU official website. "Doing the sprints and the allrounds, hats off to him, he's a crazy guy, and I have all respect."

Czech skater Metodej Jilek won the 10,000m title in 12:30.54 to claim the overall silver medal, with Poland's Vladimir Semirunniy taking the overall bronze. Stolz dropped to fourth place.

In the women's competition, Wiklund also came from behind to secure the title by overtaking Japan's Miho Takagi in the concluding 5,000m event. The Norwegian skated a steady race to finish in 6:52.03, 0.52 seconds ahead of Dutch skater Marijke Groenewoud, who took silver.

Takagi finished third overall after clocking 7:01.50 in the final race, bringing the curtain down on a glittering international career. The 31-year-old had announced after the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games that the World Allround Championships would be her final competition, ending a career that included 10 Olympic medals.

"Although I know it was the last time I raced, I still don't realize it's the last time," said the 31-year-old, who received a standing ovation from a packed Thialf oval. "When I was on the podium looking at the crowd, I had two thoughts. First: I will never see this audience and this atmosphere again, and second: I am just very happy and grateful to be able to experience this."

The championships also marked the farewell of Czech three-time Olympic gold medalist Martina Sablikova, as the 38-year-old ended her international career after skating the 3,000m race on Saturday.