BERLIN -- Canadian world champion Jeremy Wotherspoon has been taken to hospital after a crash at the season-opening speedskating World Cup meet.
Wotherspoon, from Red Deer, Alta., suffered a broken upper left arm in the 500-metre race on Saturday, according to Speed Skating Canada.
He was carried off the ice on a stretcher.
Wotherspoon won a dozen World Cup medals last year, including eight gold.
He took the entire 2006-07 season off.
Joji Kato of Japan set a track record to win the race, timing 34.70 seconds to edge China's Yu Fengtong, who was second in 35.07.
Finland's Mika Poutala clocked 35.13 for third.
Vincent Labrie of St-Romuald, Que., placed 10th in 35.43. Wotherspoon holds the world record in the event.
The Netherlands swept the first four places in the men's 1,500-metre race, with Sven Kramer winning in one minute 45.69 seconds.
Erben Wennemars was second in 1:45.85, followed by Simon Kuipers (1:45.95) and Mark Tuitert (1:46.04).
Denny Morrison of Fort St. John, B.C., was eighth in 1:46.59.
Wang Beixing of China won the women's 500 ahead of world record-holder Jenny Wolf of Germany.
Wang, who was beaten by Wolf in Friday's 500 race, clocked 37.91 to beat Wolf by 0.03 seconds. The second-place finish snapped Wolf's 10-race winning streak in the World Cup, where the Berlin native had not lost since last December. Lee Sang-hwa of South Korea finished third in 38.26.
Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic won the women's 3,500 metres in 4:03.70, ahead of Germany's Daniela Anschutz Thoms (4:07.08) and Masako Hozumi of Japan (4:07.92).
Ottawa's Kristina Groves was next in 4:07.94. Winnipeg's Brittany Schussler was eighth in 4:09.80 and Winnipeg's Clara Hughes was 10th in 4:11.05.
