Speed skating: Beckert faster than ever at the season opener

Patrick Beckert, the two-time World Championship third place winner, has started the Olympic season brilliantly.The 27-year-old from Erfurt was in Inzell with 6:19.10 minutes over 5000 m faster than ever before.

“That was by far my fastest start of the season.My run was technically good with constant lap times,”twittered the Thuringian, who had won the bronze medal in 2015 and 2017 over the 10,000 m mark.

Record world champion Sven Kramer is also in excellent early form.The Dutchman missed the Calgary world record of the Norwegian Eskil Ervik (3:37.28) by only 0.17 seconds on the non-Olympic 3000 m with a national record of 3:37.45 minutes.Like Kramer, his team-mate Kjeld Nuis set a track record in Inzell with 1:08.24 minutes over 1000 m.

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