7th Master Sprint Games

The registration date for 6th Masters’ International Sprint Games that will be held in Astana/KAZ from Feb.1st till Feb.2nd 2014, has been extended to 10 January 2013 !

Most aged athlete Ivan Yuzubkin from St. Petersburg turned 84 years old, he has repeatedly won the world championships among masters and stay the champion of the world in his age category. Athletes unanimously noted the excellent organization of competitions, comfortable conditions created at the sport complex and, of course, Kolomna ice, which in this day deserve the highest marks. Bram De Vries (72 years), representative of the team of the Netherlands: “I am happy with my performance on 500 m distance, I ran better than in Calgary”. Two athletes updated world achievements: Russian Sergey Shklyaev (AG 75) with a total of 196.040 points, and Pentti Kiiskinen from Finland (AG70) – 176.815 points.

Interviews with participants: 

Renske Winters (Netherlands),

Q.- How old do you participate in competitions?
A.- I started competing when I was 19 years old. This is a fairly late age, but I still have one year to improve their results.
Q. – In what tournaments you have participated, and that won in his career?
A. – I won several Games among masters, 4 all-round tournament among masters, and this – my 5 victory in International MastersSprint Games. I have a few titles, I continue to compete and train young athletes in the Netherlands, they help me not to lose shape, and learn from me.
Q. – How do you assess your performance in these competitions?
A. – I was very happy to be in Kolomna, I heard a lot about Skating Center. I would like to win another tournament. The ice is very fast, I do not like slow ice, I like to compete in the sprint, so I was happy to be here. I broke mypersonal best for this type of ice. My result is almost as fast as in Calgary and Salt Lake City.
Q. – This is your fifth victory in the sprint competitions, how long do you plan to skate and how many titles you plan to win?
A. – When are competing at this age, every year you think – stay to skate or leave the sport. I’m sure that next year I will compete again. In next year All-round Games will be held in the Netherlands, so I just can not leave now. I will participate, every year I have a progress, skate a little faster than before. I remain, moreover, because I love skating. Sometimes I realize that it’s time to retire, but I’m not ready yet to decide on such a move, so I will continue to skate.

 
Bart Seffinga (Netherlands),

A. – Speed ​​skating I started quite late – I started when I was already 21 years old. Before that, I played football. But in football I’m not as good as in speed skating, so I switched to speed skating.
Q. – You first time in Kolomna?
A. – Yes, yes, I was the first time in Russia.
Q. – How do you like our city?
A. – Yes, I really liked it. Last year we were in Kazakhstan, and I thought that perhaps these two countries are similar. The food here is delicious, the people friendly, and here is a great stadium. Well, I really like Russia.
Q. – Tell us about your previous competitions.
A. – About the previous ones? Well, this is my fifth competition. BeforeKolomna we were in Astanalast year, and before that was Salt Lake City, Berlin, I also competed in the Netherlands. A couple of times participated in the races in Germany. And my main goal to qualify for the championship in Germany.And try to be a world champion in my age category. And I think I’m on the right way.
Q. – What you already have awards?
A. – Four times I was a world champion in my age category, 3 times I won in my age category at a distance of 500 meters, a couple of times was the second or third place at a distance of 500 meters, a couple of times, became the champion in the regional competitions. This seems to be my main awards.
Q. – Are you happy with today’s results?
A. – Well, I would like to be a little faster. I’m pretty firmly in first place in the classification, on the last lap I thought, “Do not risk, you’re already at the final segment.” Well, if I took a chance, perhaps, the result would be better. But I am quite pleased with the result.
Thank you and good luck.