Semirunniy Wins Bronze at World Allround Championships

Championship Format and Historic Achievement
The World Allround Speed Skating Championships include skaters competing within a range of distances and accumulating points based on their performance in each of those distances. For example, in the men's competition, skaters will generally complete a two-day, four-event series of races (500m, 5000m, 1500m, 10,000m), and the total points earned from those races will determine the overall finishing place for each skater.

The same format applies to the women's competition, with the exception that they complete races of shorter distances (500m, 3000m, 1500m, 5000m).
After all of the races had concluded on Sunday, Semirunniy finished with a total of 3rd overall. In doing so, he joined Erwina Ryś-Ferens, who won a women's bronze medal in 1988, as the only other Polish athlete to earn all-around world championship hardware since the inception of that championship.

Rising Star of the Season
Widely regarded as one of the absolute top-speed skating events, the World Allround Championship occurs at the conclusion of every second season. The 2026 championship was held just following the conclusion of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games.

Previously, Semirunniy gained international recognition by winning a silver medal for the 10,000m race just two weeks before the 2026 World Allround Speed Skating Championships.

Having emigrated from Russia as a political refugee due to his opposition to the war in Ukraine in 2023, Semirunniy became a Polish citizen in 2025. Since that time, he has readily established himself as one of the top men's speed skating athletes in Poland.

The men's all-around champion at the 2026 World Allround Speed Skating Championships was Sander Eitrem of Norway. In the women's competition, the overall winner was also from Norway, Ragne Wiklund.