The Speed World Cup in Denver ended with a damp fizzle after a storm came in early and the event was cancelled due to rain. Up until that point, the event had been going well, with thousands lined up to watch.
Because of the cancellation, the top eight's ranking was decided by their fastest times in the competition, the same method that is used to decide 9th to 16th place.
Hunt win her second gold medal in Denver
Emma Hunt won her second World Cup gold medal in Denver this weekend. She won her first gold medal at the Salt Lake City World Cup last year. Hunt ran the fastest time of the competition, matching her personal record and Pan-American speed record of 6.36 seconds. Hunt has only missed one speed final ever, and that was at her first World Cup in 2019.
She said after the competition, “It’s weird because I only did three races to get the medal. I would have loved to have done all the races but that’s the weather. It was super cool to have had the chance to do a few laps in front of a home crowd, and I hope we can come back to Denver.”
Natalia Kalucka won the silver medal thanks to a personal best run in the qualification round. The medal is her ninth World Cup medal and seventh silver medal. She last won a medal in Chamonix in 2024. She was the only athlete other than Hunt who went below 6.5 seconds.
Lijuan Deng won the bronze medal, her 10th World Cup medal and second bronze this year. Deng's third place moves her into 1st in the World Cup series. She is 80 points ahead of Yafei Zhou.
Natalia Kalucka's silver medal moves her up into 3rd in the Series on 1,640 points. Emma Hunt's win moves her into fourth with 1,610 points. Only 265 points separate 1st from 4th.
Katibin also makes it two
Kiromal Katibin also won his second gold medal and 12th World Cup medal. He won his first World Cup medal back in Salt Lake City in 2022. He was the fastest in the competition with a time of 4.83.
He said after the competition, “I feel good, this is only my second World Cup gold, so I am happy. I want to say thank you to my coaches, my brother, my parents and everyone in Indonesia for the support.”
Zach Hammer won the silver medal, his first World Cup medal, and set a new personal record in Denver of 4.88 seconds. He is the third American to win a World Cup medal after Sam Watson and Noah Bratschi.
Hammer said after the competition, “It feels amazing. I wouldn’t say unexpected because I have been working really hard for it and I was confident I could do it, but to have the medal finally around my neck is an amazing feeling.
When I walked out onto the stage for finals, I honestly don’t think I have had a larger crowd cheering for me at any competition so that really lit a fire in me.”
Sam Watson won the bronze medal, his 6th World Cup medal. He was only 0.01 seconds slower than Hammer in qualifications.
Katibin's win moves him ahead of Watson in the Series by 80 points on 2380 points. Watson is now second on 2300 points. Jianguo Long, who false-started in the final in Denver, is third. Shouhong Chu's 4th place in Denver moves him up into 4th in the Series.
The next Speed World Cup will be in Kraków, Poland, on 5th-6th July.
