Shani Triumphs at Thialf, Extends WC Lead

Mar 2, 2012 | Announcements

2 March 2012 – Heerenveen, The NETHERLANDS 

Shani Davis continues to deliver when the stakes are highest.

Racing in the final pairing at a hallowed venue in a speedskating-crazed nation, Shani earned a crucial second-straight 1500m victory on the World Cup circuit to extended his lead in the Overall standings. 

Winning in 1:46.89, just .09 ahead of Dutchman Kjeld Nuis (1:46.98), it was Davis’ 15th career victory at the distance and 49th overall. The two-time Olympic 1500m Silver Medalist now stands alone in second on the all-time single-race World Cup victory list behind Canadian hall-of-fame sprinter Jeremy Wotherspoon (67). 

After missing the podium in two of his first three 1500m World Cup races earlier this season, Shani’s second-straight 100 point win vaulted him to 380 points in the Overall season standings, almost 60 points better than Norwegian Havard Bokko (322). 

 
At next weekend’s World Cup Final in Berlin Davis will have a chance to capture his record fifth straight Overall 1500m World Cup crown, a feat that has been accomplished only by Wotherspoon, who won five straight 1000m titles between 1997-2002. 

Shani has a day of rest before the World Cup 1000m contest, when he tries to chase down Overall leader Stefan Groothuis of The Netherlands. 

[Photo Credit:Martin de Jong]

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