American teen Stolz wins third title, Italy's Ghiotto writes history at speed skating worlds

THE HAGUE, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Jordan Stolz of the United States completed a hat-trick after taking the men's 1,500 meters title on Sunday, while Davide Ghiotto wrote history for Italy on the final day of the World Single Distance Championships in Heerenveen, the Netherlands.

The 18-year-old American clocked one minute and 43.59 seconds to claim his third title in this tournament following victories in the 500 and 1,000 meters.

Dutchmen Kjeld Nuis (1:43.82) and Thomas Krol (1:44.30) were defeated to the second and third places. Ning Zhongyan from China finished ninth in 1:45.50.

Ghiotto clocked a personal best and Italian record of 12:41.35 in the men's 10,000m, becoming the first Italian ever to grab gold at the championships. Dutchman Jorrit Bergsma finished second in 12:55.64, ahead of Canadian Ted-Jan Bloemen in 13:01.84.

In the women's 5,000m at the Thialf stadium, Olympic champion Irene Schouten booked her first win of the 2023 worlds and defended her title with a Dutch record of 6:41.25. Ragne Wiklund from Norway finished second in 6:46.15 and Czech veteran Martina Sablikova third in 6:47.78.

Another local favorite Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong won the women's 1,500m with a time of 1:53.54. Wiklund settled for a silver in 1:54.30, while Japanese star Miho Takagi took bronze in 1:54.39. Chinese skater Han Mei finished eighth in 1:55.61.