CALGARY, Alberta (AP) American Brittany Bowe broke the world record in the women's 1,500 meters Sunday, and Russia's Pavel Kulizhnikov topped the previous mark in the men's 500 at a World Cup speedskating event.
The 27-year-old Bowe, from Ocala, Florida, finished in 1 minute, 51.59 seconds to break the record of 1:51.79 set by Canada's Cindy Klassen in 2005 in Salt Lake City. On Saturday, Bowe broke her own world mark in the 1,000, but teammate Heather Bergsma topped her in the next pairing.
''Falling just short of the gold and world record (Saturday) definitely put some extra motivation in my body,'' Bowe said. ''I channeled a lot of that energy into good skating, good race tactics and I knew I had to skate perfect to end up on top. To be able to get that world record is quite an honor ... Cindy's in a class of her own. She's a legend.''
Kulizhnikov finished the 500 in 34.00 to break the mark of 34.03 set by Canada's Jeremy Wotherspoon in 2007.
Bergsma, from High Point, North Carolina, was second Sunday in the 1,500 in 1:52.27. The Czech Republic's Martina Sablikova was third in 1:54.18.
China's Hong Zhang won the women's 500 in 36.94. South Korea's Lee Sang-hwa was second in 36.99, followed by Bergsma in 37.06, and Bowe in 37.12.
In the men's 500, Canada's William Dutton was second in 34.25, and teammate Alex Boisvert-Lacroix followed in 34.30. Russia's Denis Yuskov took the 1,500 in 1:41.88. Belgium's Bart Swings was second in 1:42.48, and American Joey Mantia third in 1:42.48.
