William Silk, Marley Soldan Score Bronze Medals at Junior World Championships
Share:
by Paul D. Bowker
William Silk and Marley Soldan each reached the podium over the weekend at the ISU World Junior Speed Skating Championships in Collalbo, Italy.
Both finished third in the Mass Start finals Sunday, with Silk recording a time of 5:34.64 in the men’s race and Soldan finishing with a time of 7:11.78 in the women’s event.
Silk also placed eighth in the Men’s Allround standings with 155.120 points. Emma De Bock placed 17th in the Women’s Allround and Soldan, a 2024 Youth Olympian, was 18th.
Silk, Soldan and De Bock were among nine U.S. skaters who competed in the Junior Worlds.
Elise Stave joined Soldan and De Bock for a sixth-place finish in the Women’s Team Pursuit and a seventh-place finish in the Women’s Team Sprint. Silk teamed up with 2024 Youth Olympians Liam Kitchel and Max Weber for a sixth-place finish in the Men’s Team Pursuit.
Silk, who competed in five individual events, had the top three American finishes in the men’s competition. In addition to reaching the podium in the Mass Start, he also finished 11th in the 1500m and 5000m.
Soldan, who raced in five individual events and three team events, won her Mass Start semifinal Saturday, then placed third in Sunday’s final. She also was the top American in the 3000m, placing 21st. She was 25th in the 1500m, 34th in the 1000m and 37th in the 500m.
Soldan also combined with Weber for a 10th-place finish in the Mixed Relay.
De Bock was the fastest American in the Women’s 1500m, 1000m and 500m, placing 21st, 22nd and 30th, respectively.
Kitchel nearly reached the Men’s Mass Start podium, finishing fifth with a time of 5:51.60. He finished 20th in the 5000m, 22nd in the 1000m, 34th in the 1500m and 38th in the 500m.
Stave placed 35th in the Women’s 3000m and 36th in the 1500m. Evie Forrer finished 36th in the Women’s 3000m.
On the men’s side, Weber was the fastest American in the 500m, placing 27th. He also finished 23rd in the 1000m, 24th in the 5000m and 27th in the 1500m.
Silk added a 30th-place finish in the 1000m and a 45th-place finish in the 500m. Sam Chamberlain was 38th in the 1000m and 44th in the 500m, and Leo Drossos-Thompson was 40th in the 1500m and 42nd in the 500m.
Chamberlain, Drossos-Thompson and Weber teamed up for a ninth-place finish in the Men’s Team Sprint.
Paul D. Bowker has been writing about Olympic and Paralympic sports since 1996, when he was an assistant bureau chief in Atlanta. He is a freelance contributor to USSpeedskating.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
