American Shani Davis wins 1,500; Olympic champ Marianne Timmer injures ankle at World Cup

By MIKE CORDER , Associated Press

Last update: November 14, 2009 - 10:57 AM

HEERENVEEN, Netherlands - Shani Davis of the United States set a track record in the 1,500-meters Friday at a speedskating World Cup meet overshadowed by an injury to two-time Olympic champion Marianne Timmer.

Davis finished in 1 minute 44.48 seconds, breaking the nearly three-year-old Thialf Stadium track record. Havard Bokko of Norway was second in 1:45.57, followed by Stefan Groothuis of the Netherlands.

Earlier, Timmer ruptured a left ankle ligament when she fell rounding the final bend in her 500-meter race after Chinese skater Jing Yu fell in front of her. Timmer slammed into inflatable barriers and screamed in pain.

Both skaters were on the ice surrounded by coaches and medical officials for several minutes before being carried off the track on stretchers.

Timmer is likely to be out for four weeks — a serious blow to her preparations for the Vancouver Olympics.

"It all happened in a split second," Timmer told Dutch broadcaster NOS. "I felt the ankle turn over."

Timmer won the 1,000-meter race at the 2006 Olympics in Turin and the same race at the 1998 Nagano Games.

Her coach Jac Orie said Timmer was taken to a hospital for treatment.

"She is very worried about the season and Olympic qualification," he said.

German world record-holder Jenny Wolf won the 500 in 37.93 seconds despite a slight slip in her race. Wang Beixing of China was second in 38.19, followed by Dutch skater Annette Gerritsen in 38.23.

The win solidified Wolf's place at the top of the World Cup standings with 280 points.

The men's 500 was far less eventful. Keiichiro Nagashima of Japan won in 34.98 seconds, just ahead of Tucker Fredricks of the United States in 35.00 and Ronald Mulder of the Netherlands in a personal-best 35.07.

Lee Kang-seok of South Korea was fourth, but remained atop the World Cup rankings.

Stephanie Beckert of Germany was a surprise winner of the 3,000 with a time of 4:05.29, beating World Cup leader Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic. Beckert's teammate Daniela Anschuetz Thoms was third.

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