Time Trials can be as exciting as: “watching the grass grow”.
This year we have more courites competing, than ever before. This is fantastic news for world speed skating, BUT it means me skaters, long time taken, more heats and more standing in the heat for both the competityors and the spectators.

The Time Trials sees one skater at a time on the track. “man against the clock”. Long track ice speed skaters might call this “ The Pure Sport”. No pushing or shoving and unfortunately nobody to blame, but yourself. In the end, it’s the fastest junior lady and man, senior lady and man who will take home the gold.

Junior Ladies:India’s Namratha Rao had to try 4 separtate times before the timining equipment would allow her to post a time. The crowd aplauded appreciatively as she took to the start line, time and time again in the hot midday sun till finally she was done and the officials could award first place to Brittany Bowe of the United States who has certainly stamped her foot at Worlds now, showing the great quality of skater that she is;(a young Theresa Cliff in the making perhaps)?

Colombia’s Jersy Puello also doing an imitation, this time of one of Colombia’s greatest sprinters, Berenace Moreno who has just married her baseball sweetheart, and is not attending Worlds this year.

Heather Richardson took bronze, showing the strength of the US junior girsl this year. 4th, but unfortunately, not a medal position, to New Zealand’s only junior girl to attend Worlds this year, Nicole Begg of the famous speed skating Begg family.

Junior Men: Ahhh,how does Italy do it? Produce sprinter after sprinter after sprinter??? Junior boys gold and silver to Marco Falcone and Simone Bellia. The crowd was small during the day session, but they made up for lack of numbers with their noise. A rising nation in speed skating has been South Korea. They were honoured this year with the presence of their President, Mr. Kim who proudly watched his young skater, Eum Han Jun take the bronze medal. Their strength as a nation of sprinters can be seen with 9th place being taken by Ki Hyo Jin with 26.48

Senior Ladies: Whew, the day grew hotter and so did the competition. Fiercely faught after, the only 3 medals that are up for grabs saw a new skater take the fastest time every few minutes. That meant that when the best time was called out, we waited with baited breath for another skater to do better and take the medal from her. It is no secret that ‘Golden Girl’, Valentine Belloni of Italy, was the crowd’s favourite. She came to the start line twice during the first half of the senior ladies competition. Seemingly, if academy awards were also being hadned out, Velentina would have been hot for 2 medals in the same event. Valentina seemed to have changed her mind and chose to compete in the latter part of the racing and as the 2nd Italian representitive. This game plan seemed to have gone well with Velenitna posting a time of 27.42, faster than many of the junior and senior men! But it was not be for Valentina on this day, as Andrea Gonzales of Argentina took the gold medal away from a devistated Valentina with a time of 27.36 We also witnessed the return of the very beatiful French skater, Estelle Flourens, not seen at worlds for a few years, this year she retunred with a vengance posting a time of 27.56 gaining her 4th place. Pan Yi Chin from Chinese Taipei, better known for her marathon ability, gained a creadible 9th position.

Senior Men: with nail biting having taken its toll, we watched the senior men warm up, as if they needed to, (it must have been 30c+ by now). Young Joey Mantia of the US, small in frame but big in stature: His 25.33 gave him the bronze medal, so we will look forward to next year watching Joey compete again. New Zeland’s Kalon Dobbin, like a ‘bull-at-a gate’ snorted off the start line to capture the silver medal with 25.18 Another ‘mamoth man’ almost freightening on the start line, brought the entire crowd to a complete stand still and silence. Truely, you could hear a pin drop when he took off on his quest to beat Luca Presti’s time of 25.09, with his crude powerful style he cornered perfectly and his straights were strong, as he compeleted the 300m he caught a wheel, for he was truely on ‘the edge’ of losing it. He ended his quest with a time of 25.57, only good enogh for 4th place and on his butt, breathing very heavily as he sat and contemplated his placing for track 2004. Colombia’s hopeful Diego Betancur placed 9th, perhaps his forte will be the road events?