Speed skating: Pechstein's women's team loses race for fifth place

Pyeongchang (SID) Claudia Pechstein and the German speed skaters left the team competition at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang with disappointment. In the race for fifth place, one day before her 46th birthday, Pechstein clearly lost the duel with China with Roxanne Dufter and Gabriele Hirschbichler in 3:04,67 minutes (3:00,04). Pechstein and Co. only came sixth in the placement races on Monday (3:02,65) and missed the semi-finals. "The run was rougher than the last one. It's a shame that we didn't win the race. But Monday's disappointment is more serious," said Hirschbichler. Dufter, who recovered after an infection, added: "We took on the challenge. It's clear that the run wasn't great." Immediately after the start there was a big gap between Pechstein and her teammates, which was only closed after more than one lap. Starting runner Hirschbichler didn't believe that the start was too fast. “I thought my speed was just right. But that can always happen,” she said. The Dutch teams fell short of great expectations. The women led by Ireen Wüst had to admit defeat to their main rival Japan (2:55,48/Olympic record) in the final in 2:53,89 minutes. Bitter for Wüst: If she were successful, the 1500 m Olympic champion would have become the most successful speed skater in history. Bronze went to the USA (2:59,26) ahead of Canada (2:59,72). Things went even worse for the Oranje stars around Sven Kramer, who lost the semi-final against Norway. In the duel for bronze, TeamNL (3:38,40) won against New Zealand (3:43,54). Gold went to Norway (3:37,32) ahead of South Korea (3:38,52). For Pechstein, it was the penultimate appearance at her seventh Winter Games after previous runs over 3000 m and 5000 m. The five-time Olympic champion is still planning to start on Saturday in the mass start, which will be held at the Olympics for the first time. Despite a surprising World Cup victory this season, she is only an outsider there.

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Speed skating: Pechstein's women's team loses race for fifth place

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Speed skating: Pechstein's women's team loses race for fifth place