2012 European Speed Skating Championships
| European Speed Skating Championships | |||||||||||||
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| Venue |
City Park Ice Rink Budapest, Hungary |
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| Dates | 6–8 January 2012 | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 54from 18 nations | ||||||||||||
| Medalist men | |||||||||||||
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| Medalist women | |||||||||||||
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Sven Kramer |
 NED
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Jan Blokhuijsen |
NED
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Håvard Bøkko |
 NOR
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Martina Sáblíková |
 CZE
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Claudia Pechstein |
 GER
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Ireen Wüst |
NED
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The 2012 European Speed Skating Championships was the 37th continental speed skating event for women and the 106th for men, that was held at the City Park Ice Rink in Budapest, Hungary, from 6 to 8 January 2012. The competition was also a qualifying event for the 2012 World Allround Speed Skating Championships as the entry quotas were allocated according to the results of the European Championships.
In the absence of defending champion Ivan Skobrev, who did not participate due to an injury, Dutchman Sven Kramer took the men's European title. This was his fifth victory, having won previously four consecutive European Championships between 2007 and 2010. Kramer also ran track records both in the 1500 meters and 5000 metres event, and his overall score of 156.197 is the best ever result at the City Park Ice Rink as well.
In the women's competition previous year's gold medalist Martina Sáblíková retained her title, achieving her third European success in row and fourth overall. Sáblíková also set a new track record in 3000 metres with a time of 4:16.09.
Further two records were beaten over the weekend, both in 500 metres. On the first day of the championships, Sáblíková's compatriot Karolína Erbanová set a new best time, and a day later Konrad Niedźwiedzki of Poland ran a track record on the shortest distance.
The competition took place at the City Park Ice Rink, an outdoor artificial skating rink situated in the downtown of Budapest. Prior to the championships, the rink went through a renovation and modernization for a fee of 4.7 billion Hungarian Forint (approximately €16 million), of which 3 billion came from the European Regional Development Fund. As a result, the main building was restored to its 19th-century look, the ice surface was expanded by 15 percent and a 210 kilometres (130 mi) emdedded cooling system was laid down as well. The races were held on a standard track of 400 meters with outer curves of 29 meters and inner curves of 25 meters radii. Both racing lanes were 4 meters wide, with an additional inside training track of the similar width.
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Wikipedia