THE HAGUE, March 3 (Xinhua) -- The Netherlands ended the final day of the ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Heerenveen with three gold medals on Sunday.

Femke Kok claimed her second gold of the weekend in the women's 500m, finishing in 37.13 seconds to remain unbeaten in the event this season since returning from illness. The reigning world champion, who missed the first half of the season due to a viral infection, has now won five gold medals in five World Cup 500m races this year.

"Since I'm back, I'm very stable in training and in races," Kok told the ISU official website. "It's getting better every week."

Despite finishing second on Sunday, Erin Jackson of the United States (37.43) secured the season's overall 500m World Cup title for the third consecutive year. Poland's Kaja Ziomek-Nogal (37.73) took bronze.

In the women's mass start, Marijke Groenewoud captured gold in a close finish, crossing the line just ahead of Canada's Ivanie Blondin. Mia Manganello Kilburg of the United States claimed bronze.

The win earned Groenewoud her fifth mass start gold in six races this season, securing her the World Cup title in the discipline.

The Dutch women also completed a perfect season in the team pursuit, winning the final race in 2:54.87. Joy Beune, Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong, and Groenewoud went undefeated throughout the campaign, giving the Netherlands its first overall title in the event since the 2014-15 season.

"This is unique," Beune said. "It's real teamwork. We know each other well, we've all got the same goal and we fit together well as skaters."

On the men's side, Kazakhstan's Yevgeniy Koshkin, who won bronze in the first 500m race on Friday, took his second career World Cup gold in the 500m in 34.46 seconds. Laurent Dubreuil of Canada was just 0.05 seconds behind, with Jenning de Boo of the Netherlands finishing third, one-hundredth of a second further back.

American Jordan Stolz, who did not compete on Sunday to recover from illness, had already secured the season title in the distance.

In the men's mass start, Italy's Andrea Giovannini defended his overall World Cup title with a strategic breakaway win, outsprinting South Korea's Chung Jae-won and Dutch veteran Jorrit Bergsma in the final laps.

The United States capped off the men's team pursuit season with a gold medal and their fourth consecutive World Cup title, finishing in 3:39.40 ahead of Italy and the Netherlands.

The mixed relay event wrapped up the World Cup season, with Switzerland's Kaitlyn McGregor and Livio Wenger making their event debut and capturing gold in 2:59.09. Spain and Poland completed the podium.

With the World Cup season concluded, skaters will now shift their focus to the ISU World Single Distances Championships, scheduled for March 13-16 in Hamar, Norway. Enditem

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