Brittany Bowe Adds Silver To World Championships Weekend Total

Brittany Bowe poses after winning the 1000m race during the ISU World Speed Skating Championships on Feb. 13, 2021 in Heerenveen, Netherlands.

Brittany Bowe narrowly missed going 2-for-2 in world titles this weekend, but she now has another medal in hand after Sunday’s 1,500-meter race at the ISU Single Distances World Championships in Heerenveen, Netherlands.
A day earlier, Bowe won her third title in the 1,000 meters and became the most decorated U.S. woman ever with 10 medals overall at the event. She was back at the starting line on Sunday, taking silver at the longer distance.
The 1,000 meters is the stronger event for Bowe, whose three world title are tied with two others for the most in history. But the 1,500 is a close second. She won the world title at the distance in 2015 and pulled in two bronze medals at the world championships as well heading into this weekend. 
On Sunday, it would take a personal-best performance from Norway’s Ragne Wiklund to beat Bowe. Wiklund finished in 1:54.613, her best time to date, clocking in 0.42 seconds faster than Bowe at 1:55.034. Russia’s Evgenia Lalenkova won bronze with a time of 1:55.099. 
This speed skating season has been shortened due to COVID-19, and the world cup didn’t start until late January. In her first international competition in almost a year, Bowe won both the 1,000 and 1,500 meters at each of the two world cups coming into this weekend’s world championships. 
She also competed in the 500 meters on Friday, finishing eighth. 
Bowe last medaled in the 1,500 meters at the world championships in 2019, when she won bronze. She also won gold in the 1,000 meters that same year. She had a disappointing performance in 2020, failing to reach the podium in any of her events. 
Two-time Olympian Joey Mantia also raced on Sunday, fresh off his world title win in the men’s mass start on Sunday. He finished fifth in the 1,500 meters.