Congratulations to Pavel Kulizhnikov, 2019 world champion in sprint speed skating 2019-02-24 20:00:00 Vladimir Putin congratulated Pavel Kulizhnikov on winning the 2019 World Sprint Speed Skating Championships in Heerenveen (Netherlands). The message reads, in part: “Your brilliant talent, exceptional hard work and unfailing will to win helped you to outperform worthy rivals and to confidently reaffirm your role at the pinnacle of world speed skating. Of course, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to your mentors, who always offer you their sincere support and help you to achieve the goals set.”