WARSAW, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- China's Gao Tingyu, a bronze medalist at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, won the men's 500m with a new track record of 34.265 seconds at the ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland on Friday.
It is the first time for Gao, 24, to claim a World Cup title.
Nearly three hundred skaters from 35 countries and regions take part in the competition that inaugurated the World Cup cycle, which is also Olympic qualifications.
Gao showed a masterclass in the first race of the Division A at 500 meters. The silver and bronze went to Japanese Tatsuya Shinhama and Laurent Dubreuil from Canada respectively.
In the 500m Division B race Yang Tao took the third place, behind home skaters Piotr Michalski and Damian Zurek. The 24-year-old crossed the line in 35.241. His compatriot Liu An was fifth with 35.351.
Zhang Lina earned 16 points in the general classification after she took fifth position in the women's 500m Division B. The race was won by the Pole Andzelika Wojcik, Kimi Goetz from the United States was second. In the 500m Women Division A Jin Jingzhu achieved a sixth result, while her compatriot Tian Ruining was seventh.
Two-time world champion Irene Schouten turned out to be the best at the women's 5,000m. The Dutch set a new track record with 4:4.009. Canadian Isabelle Weidermann and Italian Francesca Lollobrigida also stood on the podium.
Sweden's Nils van der Poel took gold in the men's 5,000m Division A, followed by Ten Jan-Bloemen and Patrick Roest. Enditem
