Gschwentner 25th

Herzog finishes sprint quad event World Championships in fifth place

Speed skater Vanessa Herzog has finished fifth in the sprint pentathlon at the World Championships in Inzell, Bavaria. On Friday, the 28-year-old Tyrolean was slightly faster over 500 m (37.48 sec.) and 1,000 m (1:14.87) compared to Thursday and worked her way up one position with a total of 150.195 points. The victory went to Japan's Miho Takagi (147.545).

"I'm very happy today. I wanted to go faster than yesterday and I managed to do that. These times are impressive," said a satisfied Herzog on her "home track", where she spends many training days. "It was my fastest 500 this season and I've only broken the 1:14 over 1,000 meters in Inzell once in my life." After a difficult season, the result was certainly balm for the soul. "If I had skied like I did at the start of the season, I would probably have finished in 15th place," said Herzog.

In the men's event, World Championship debutant Ignaz Gschwentner lost one position compared to Thursday, finishing the competition in 25th place. The winner was China's Zhongyan Ning.

The all-round titles begin on Saturday, with the 500 and 5,000 meter distances on the program. Gabriel Odor will be flying the red-white-red flag there.