Williams, Soldan, Silk Finish Among Top 16 In Allround At Jr. World Championships

Marley Soldan finished fifth in the Women’s Mass Start and was one of three U.S. skaters to rank among the top 16 in their respective Allround competitions at the ISU World Junior Speed Skating Championships over the weekend in Hachinohe City, Japan.

Libby Williams and Soldan led a strong effort by the U.S. women, finishing 15th and 16th, respectively, in the Women’s Allround standings with 171.983 and 172.680 points. Meanwhile, William Silk scored 156.771 to take 16th in the Men’s Allround while also posting the top individual result for a U.S. man by finishing 18th in the 5000m.

Soldan, a 2024 Youth Olympian, posted a time of 5:44.95 in the Mass Start final. It was the highest U.S. finish in any event at the three-day World Championships.

Soldan also placed 15th in the Women’s 3000m with a time of 4:26.86.

Williams placed 20th in the Women’s 500m with a time of 40.92 seconds and was 25th in the 1000m with a time of 1:22.41. She and Soldan teamed up with Piper Yde for a sixth-place finish in the Women’s Team Sprint.

Yde’s best individual finish was 12th in the Mass Start. She ended up 28th in the Women’s Allround.

Silk was the top American finisher in the Men’s 5000m, placing 18th with a time of 6:49.31. The 5000m was one of four individual events and one team event that Silk competed in.

Max Weber, who had a sixth-place finish in the Men’s 1500m in the Youth Olympic Games, competed in the 500m, 1000m and 1500m in Hachinohe City. His best finish was 33rd in the 500m with a time of 38.05 seconds.

Liam Kitchel, another Youth Olympian competing in three events, was 28th in the 5000m with a time of 6:57.95, finishing 10 spots behind Silk.

Carl Tatelli was 16th in the Men’s Mass Start, and Dylan Woodbury’s three individual events included 28th-place finishes in the 500m and 1000m.

Woodbury, Silk and Kitchel combined for a seventh-place finish in the Men’s Team Pursuit. Woodbury (25th), Weber (27th) and Kitchel (29) also ended among the top 30 in the Allround.

Among other U.S. finishers, Nastasja Radulovic finished 40th in the Women’s 1500m, and Natasa Gakovic had a pair of 41st-place finishes in the 500m and 1000m.

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.