Speed skating: Poland’s Michalski becomes European champion

Polish speed-skater Piotr Michalski on Sunday scooped the gold medal in the 500m event at the European Championships, held in Heerenveen, the Netherlands, the state PAP agency reported.

Polish speed-skater Piotr Michalski (pictured) on Sunday scooped the gold medal in the 500m event at the European Championships, held in Heerenveen, the Netherlands.

PAP/EPA/Vincent Jannink

The 27-year-old Pole won by a finely narrow margin, beating the hosts’ Merijn Scheperkamp, who took silver, by 0.01 sec. Another skater from the Netherlands, Dai Dai N'tab, finished third, getting the bronze medal, 0,016 behind Michalski.

Fellow Polish skaters Marek Kania and Damian Żurek came eighth and twelfth, respectively.

It was Poland’s third medal of the tournament, after Michalski, Żurek and Kania also claimed bronze in men’s team-sprint event, while Andżelika Wójcik, Kaja Ziomek and Karolina Bosiek won the corresponding women’s competition, PAP reported. 

The latter medal, secured on Friday, was Poland’s first-ever gold in the European speed-skating championships.

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Source: PAP