Having raced to 500 metres gold at the 2015 World Single Distance Championship in Heerenveen, Kulizhnikov claimed the World Cup title with victory in the sixth and final leg of the season.

The Russian posted a time of 34.71sec to finish ahead of Dutch pair Michel Mulder and Gerben Jorritsma, second and third respectively after recording times of 34.94 and 35.25.

With Kulizhnikov now on 930 points he is mathematically assured of the World Cup title ahead of tomorrow's second 500m race in the German city, with second place Laurent Dubreuil of Canada unable to surpass the Russian as he has only 651 points.

There was further success for Kulizhnikov as he lifted his second World Cup title in the 1,000m after a fourth placed finish saw him top the standings on 600 points, while The Netherlands Kjeld Nuis was second on 571.

Nuis was the runner-up in the final 1,000m race of the season after his time of 1min 09.42sec saw him finish 0.35 seconds adrift of Canada's Denny Morrison,who won in 1:09.07.

Nuis' compatriot Vincent De Haitre completed the podium in 1:09.47.

The final men's event on the penultimate day of the season saw The Netherlands' Jorrit Bergsma win gold in the 5,000m with a time of 6:17.49, while Norway's Sverre Lunde Pedersen and Patrick Beckert earned silver and bronze with times of 6:20.64 and 6:21.80 respectively.

Bergsma's victory saw him move ahead of Pedersen in the final World Cup standings, securing the title on 430 points as Pedersen ended the season on 415.

The Netherlands' Jorrit Bergsma secured the 5,000 metres Speed Skating World Cup title ©AFP/Getty Images





Americans Brittany Bowe and Heather Richardson enjoyed success in the two women's competitions with the world champion Bowe beating her compatriot to the 1,500m gold in 1:55.88

Richardson finished 0.11 seconds further back in 1:55.99, while the Czech Republic's Martina Sábliková posted a 1:56.74  to finish third.

Despite missing out on the podium, Marrit Leenstra's fourth placed finish proved to be crucial as the Dutchwoman claimed the 1,500m World Cup title on 410 points, just 10 clear of Richardson.

The American took the first of the weekend's two 500m races, however, finishing in 37.80, with Bowe second in 37.93sec and Kazakstan's Yekaterina Aydova third in 38.15.

The overall title will definitely head to Asia with South Korea's Sang-Hwa Lee currently leading on 880 points.

But she could be overhauled by Japan's Nao Kodaira, who is 60 points behind ahead of the final race which carries 150 points for the winner.

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