Daleman ends Kok’s two-and-a-half-year unbeaten 500m run

Angel Daleman ended Femke Kok’s two-and-a-half-year unbeaten run in the women’s 500 metres, winning the World Cup race in Beijing by 0.12 seconds.

The 19-year-old Dutch skater clocked 37.37 seconds. Kok, the Olympic and world champion, finished second in 37.49, with Suzanne Schulting third in 37.70. Daleman had also won the 1,000 metres on Friday, her first victory at that distance.

Kok had been unbeaten in the 500m since February 2024. She was the first of the leading contenders to race in Beijing and set the best time at that point, but was not satisfied with her performance. She had finished sixth in Friday’s 1,000m and said she was not in her best form.

Daleman’s winning time was quicker than the 37.41 she recorded at a qualifying event in Heerenveen two weeks earlier. Kok had clocked 36.97 there.

A second 500m race is scheduled for Sunday. Jutta Leerdam and Miho Takagi, who finished second and third respectively in the Olympic 500m, are not competing.