3 U.S. Wins at Speedskating World Cup

Shani Davis Sets Course Record in 1,500-Meter at Olympic Qualifiers in Berlin

(CBS/AP)  Shani Davis set a course record in winning the 1,500 meters in the speedskating World Cup.

Davis, the 1,000-meter Olympic champion, covered the distance in 1 minute, 44.47 seconds in the opening meet of the season.

Davis was more than a second faster than Havard Bokko of Norway, who took second in 1:45.56. Denny Morrison of Canada was third in 1:45.69.

American Tucker Fredricks upset the favored South Koreans to win the 500-meter race Sunday for his sixth career speedskating World Cup victory.

Fredericks clocked 35.06 seconds to edge Lee Kang-seok and Lee Kyou-hyuk, who were both timed in 35.10, with Lee Kang-seok getting second place on a photo finish.

Christine Nesbitt of Canada equaled the course record in winning the women's 1,500 in 1:55.54. Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic was second in 1:56.99 and another Canadian, Brittany Schussler, third in 1:57.26.

Jenny Wolf of Germany posted her 41st World Cup victory and broke the course record in winning the 500 in 37.52 seconds. Wang Beixing of China was second in 37.94 and Annette Gerritsen of the Netherlands took third in 38.27.

On Saturday, Katherine Reutter of the United States won the women's 1,500 meters.

(Left: Christine Nesbitt from Canada skates winning the women's 1,500-meter at the Speed Skating World Cup in Berlin, Nov. 8, 2009. In the bachground is Canada's Cindy Klassen.)

Reutter finished in 2:23.275 seconds to beat Ha-Ri Cho of South Korea. Cho crossed in 2:23.349 and Liu Qiuhong of China was third in 2:23.371.

Wang Meng of China won the women's 500 ahead of Kalyna Roberge of Canada. Zhao Nannan of China was third.

The skaters are working to secure spots in Olympic competition this February in Vancouver. The results from this week will be combined with rankings next weekend in Marquette, Michigan.