Speed skater Koskela enjoys excellent weekend in Nagano

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Speed skater Pekka Koskela has done it again. In the Essent ISU World Cup event in Nagano, Koskela beat the rest of the field in Saturday's 1,000-metre race with a respectable time of 1:09.41.
      The native of Seinäjoki in Western Finland, who had already won a couple of 500-metre World Cup races earlier this season, proved that he is worthy of consideration on the double distance as well.
      In the 1,000 metres Koskela finished first ahead of favourites Kyou-Hyuk Lee (1:09.47) of South Korea and Erben Wennemans (1:09.74) of the Netherlands.
      In Saturday's 500-metre sprint Koskela (35.16) came in third, behind the winner Keiichiro Nagashima of Japan, who clocked a new track record of 34.91, and Kang-Seok Lee (35.10) of South Korea.
     
Sunday saw a continuation of Koskela's fine performances in Nagano. This time the Finn finished second in the 500 metres, fourth in the 1,000 metres, and third in the rarely-raced 100 metres.
      The other two medallists in the 500-metre event were the same as on Saturday, only in different order. This time Kang-Seok Lee (35.09) took the gold before Keiichiro Nagashima and Koskela, who shared the second spot 0.04 seconds behind the winner.
      "Pekka did not get an optimum start. His first hundred metres took 9.82 seconds, though he can be much quicker. His exit from the first bend was also a bit below par. All things considered, a shared second place is not bad at all", head coach Janne Hänninen said in analysing the race.
      In Sunday's 1,000 metres Koskela finished fourth. The winner was Saturday's fourth-placed man, Jan Bos (1:09.40) of the Netherlands, followed by Kyou-Hyuk Lee and Erben Wennemars.
      In the World Cup points Koskela continues in a comfortable fourth place over both distances.
     
In Sunday's final event, the rarely raced 100 metres, which is usually dominated by Asian skaters, Koskela finished third behind the winner, Yuya Oikawa of Japan, and the silver medallist Yu Fengtong of China.
      In the 100-metre World Cup Koskela is in second place after two races. The third and concluding race will be held in Heerenveen in the Netherlands in January.
     
Koskela's recovery from a knee operation in July-August has happened delightfully quickly. He was only able to start training on ice from the beginning of October.
      "The operation and the rehabilitation that followed went as planned, so I do not consider my achievements a miracle of any kind", Koskela said when interviewed over the telephone from Japan. "With my coach Aimo Klemetsö we ditched the calendar and simply concentrated on what needed to be done."
      "The season is long and it has only just started. I hope my performances will continue to improve as the season grows older", Koskela said, referring to the January World Championships in Hamar, Norway, and the World Cup in Salt Lake City - where the ice is said to be the fastest in the world - later in the spring.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Winter Sports Round-Up: Finnish speed skater wins in Berlin (20.11.2006)

Links:
  International Skating Union

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