Portuguese figure skater Jéssica Rodrigues qualified this Friday for the mass start final of the Junior World Speed Skating Championships, taking place in Inzell, Germany, where she will defend her title on Sunday.
With the decisive event reserved only for the eight strongest skaters, the Portuguese athlete qualified with the seventh best time, earning two points, while Francisca Henriques finished 11th, without points.
At the start of the world championships, Jéssica also became the first Portuguese skater to break 40 seconds in the 500-meter race, with a time of 39.98, an absolute national record that earned her 21st place out of 63 participants.
Francisca Henriques finished 58th, with a time of 42.22, while in the men’s event, Martim Vieira finished 36th out of 52 skaters, with a time of 37.59.
In the 1,500-meter competition, Jéssica finished 27th out of 58 athletes with a time of 2:05.04, while Francisca finished 43rd with a personal best of 2:08.98, and Lara Nortier finished 51st with a time of 2:11.39.