BEIJING ¨C Sweden¡¯s Nils van der Poel skated a blistering last lap to snatch the gold medal in the 5,000 meters speed skating at the Beijing Olympics on Sunday, ending Dutchman Sven Kramer¡¯s 12-year monopoly of the title.
The Swede, who broke the world record at Salt Lake City two months ago, trailed Dutchman Patrick Roest by more than a second throughout the race but stormed to victory in an Olympic record time of six minutes 08.84 seconds.
¡°I was keeping it steady and feeling confident halfway through the race ... But then when the second 29.3 (laptime) came up I thought ¡®shit I¡¯ve got to go now,¡¯ ¡± he said.
¡°I was launching for it and it was the Olympic race, that was all I had.¡±
After crossing the line, Van der Poel took off his glasses and his hood before raising his arms in the air in triumph with a smile on his face.
Roest, who had also skated an Olympic record time in his earlier race, took silver in 6.09.31 while Norwegian Hallgeir Engebraaten claimed the bronze in 6.09.88.
¡°It¡¯s a nice feeling to win silver but we were so close to the gold medal,¡± said Roest, who looked dejected as he spoke to media. He was seen clutching his hair as he watched Van der Poel race.
¡°It was a good race until the end. I tried everything but on the laps I wanted, I couldn¡¯t do the times I wanted.¡±
Three-times champion Kramer, whose domination of the event spanned three Olympics, placed ninth overall out of 20 skaters.
Beijing will be the 35-year-old¡¯s last Winter Games before he retires from the sport.
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