Chinese speedskater Ning finishes season as World Cup runner-up in men's 1,500m

Ning Zhongyan competes during the Men's 1,500m Division A race of the ISU World Cup Speed Skating Final in Heerenveen, the Netherlands, March 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

China's Ning Zhongyan had to settle for silver as Dutch world record holder Kjeld Nuis won the men's 1,500m at the ISU Speed Skating World Cup Finals in Heerenveen on Sunday.

THE HAGUE, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Ning Zhongyan's attemptto win China's 10th World Cup title was thwarted by Kjeld Nuis in the men's 1,500m at the ISU Speed Skating World Cup Finals in Heerenveen, the Netherlands on Sunday.

Ning was 24 points ahead of Nuis before the Final, but the Dutch world record holder drew a perfect conclusion to the season on home soil, winning the race in a track-record one minute and 43.000 seconds and claimed his sixth World Cup title.

Ning Zhongyan (L) competes during the Men's 1500m Division A race of the ISU World Cup Speed Skating Final in Heerenveen, the Netherlands, March 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

The 20-year-old Ning had to settle for second with a fifth-placed finish in 1:45.693 on Sunday but runner-up is still the best record for a Chinese male skater in the distance. Nuis' teammate Thomas Krol finished third on the podium.

"The 2019-20 season has come to an end and I've learned and earned a lot throughout the year. It's a pity about the result but it is still perfect for me," Ning said on social media.

"I would like to thank my coaches, teammates and every one that has helped me. See you next season," he added.

In the women's competition, Ireen Wust of the Netherlands said after winning the World All-Round Championships last month that she wanted to win the World Cup Final and the 1,500m World Cup title before she could call her season definitely a success and now she has both.

The 33-year-old world single distance champion set a new track record in 1:53.101 and claimed her first World Cup title in the distance since 2013. She was followed by Japan's newly-crowned world sprint champion Tagaki Miho and Russia's Evgeniia Lalenkova, both on 260 points, 82 points behind.

Tatsuya Shinhama of Japan competes during the 1st Men's 500m Division A race of the ISU World Cup Speed Skating Final in Heerenveen, the Netherlands, March 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

Japanese skaters shone in the 500m distance as world sprint champion Shinhama Tatsuya capped his season with back-to-back men's 500m victories in Heerenveen in 34.070 seconds on Sunday and stood on top of the World Cup podium for the first time. Viktor Mushtakov of Russia, with two wins this season, came second while Laurent Dubreuil of Canada ranked third after two second-place finishes over the weekend.

Olympic champion Kodaira Nao took home the women's 500m trophy, although she was edged by Angelina Golikova of Russia (37.023 seconds) in the final race. Golikova and her compatriot Olga Fatukulina finished second and third overall.

Elsewhere on Sunday, Bart Swings of Belgium edged Joey Mantia of the United States for the men's mass start World Cup title by a mere point after crossing the line 0.07 seconds ahead of his closest rival in second place. Chung Jae-won of South Korea ended his season with a respectable time of 7:47.060 and a bronze medal.

World champion Ivanie Blondin of Canada took her second women's mass start title despite a fifth place finish. Irene Schouten of the Netherlands, surpassing Takagi Nana of Japan on the points table, was the overall runner-up. Her compatriot Melissa Wijfje claimed victory on Sunday in 8:11.740 and took the fifth place overall. ■