A feat of Davide Ghiotto, on Dutch ice, who became world champion of the 10,000 meters of ice speed skating.
This is a historic result for the blue long blades because no Italian skater had managed to win the gold medal at the World Championships single distances. Ghiotto, in recent days world silver in the 5000 and last year in Beijing Olympic bronze of the 10,000, this afternoon at the "Thjalf Arena" in Heerenveen triumphed stopping the chronometers on 12.41,35, a new Italian record.
Silver to the Dutch, host, Jorrit Bergsma (12.55,64), bronze to the Canadian Ted-Jan Bloemen (13.01,84).
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Speed skating World Championships. Davide Ghiotto gold on 10 thousand meters
Ghiotto accomplished the feat under the eyes of thousands of fans almost all Dutch in what is considered the "Mecca" of speed skating worldwide on a par with Wimbledon for tennis. In Heerenveen, a town in the north of Holland that lives for skating and its "Thjalf Arena", Ghiotto brought Italy for the first time on the roof of the world to a World Championship single distances with a perfect performance from a technical-tactical point of view. Davide was as regular as a pendulum throughout the 25 laps. His time trials had a minimum difference between 29.8 (22/o and 23/o lap) and 30.6 confirming the excellent condition.
In a distance that from 1996 to 2019 had always been dominated by a nation, the Netherlands with its many "sacred monsters" (above all Gianni Romme and Sven Kramer), Ghiotto succeeds the Swedish champion, Nils van der Poel, who retired after lowering the world limit to 12.30,74 last year at the Beijing Olympics.
Davide, 29 years old, from Vicenza of the Fiamme Gialle, graduated in philosophy passionate about Schopenhauer and Nietzsche so much to discuss the texts at the University of Trento on "Ethics and suicide", is Filippo's father and is romantically linked with Susy Balzarin. Davide's father, Federico, was a professional cyclist from 1986 to 1993. For the Italian speed-skating it is the fourth victory in a so-called "Major Event". On March 2, Ghiotto had won silver in the 5000 meters, a distance that had also seen another Vicenza rider on the podium in this event, Enrico Fabris, silver in 2007 and 2008. Fabris won silver in the 2008,10 in 000.
In the last century, at the third edition in 1998, Roberto Sighel won bronze in the 1500 meters. Other world medals: Fabio Franolini's silver in 2015 in the mass start and yesterday's bronze of Andrea Giovannini always in the mass start. For the men's team also two silvers in the pursuit, in 2005 and 2008.
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Speed skating World Championships. Davide Ghiotto gold on 10 thousand meters