Canadians Nesbitt, Morrison win World Cup speedskating events

Denny Morrison and Christine Nesbitt raced to World Cup victories Saturday for Canada's first medals of the speedskating season.

The 27-year-old Morrison, from Fort St. John, B.C., won the men's 1,000 metres in one minute 9.43 seconds, edging Pekka Koskela of Finland by 0.08 seconds.

"It's always nice to win," said Morrison, who had not won at this distance since a World Cup in January of 2009. "It makes me really proud because there are a lot of guys out there who are really fast. It feels great to stand at the top of the podium."

The 27-year-old Nesbitt, from London, Ont., won the women's 1,500 in one minute 56.35 seconds.

Nesbitt, last season's World Cup points champion over 1,500 metres, edged Marrit Leenstra of the Netherlands by seven hundredths of a second. Leenstra's teammate Lotte van Beek won the bronze.

Winnipeg natives Brittany Schussler and Cindy Klassen were 10th and 16th respectively.

South Korea's Sang-Hwa Lee won her second 500-metre World Cup race of the season, finishing in a time of 37.92 seconds. Lee beat American Heather Richardson, who finished in 38.13 seconds.

The two also finished in the same order in the event Friday.

Finland's Pekka Koskela won the men's 500 in 34.96 seconds, beating Poland's Artur Was and South Korea's Mo Tae-Bum. Koskela also took second in the men's 1,000, behind Morrison.