Sweden’s Nils van der Poel wins gold, sets Olympic record in men’s 5000 m
Patrick Roest The Netherlands set an Olympic record in the fifth pair of the men’s 5000m skating competition on Sunday.
However, his reign did not last like Sweden’s Nils van der Poel surpassed Roest in the final pair of events to win his first gold medal.
Roest finished in second place with a time of 6: 09.31. Van der Poel lowered the record 6: 08.84.
Norges Hallgeir Engebraaten won the bronze medal with a time of 6: 09.88.
Van der Poel is the first Swedish athlete to win Olympic gold in the 5,000 m for men since Tomas Gustafson in 1988.
He was at Roest’s pace throughout the race until the last leg. Van der Poel was 0.99 seconds behind the Dutch mark when he entered the final 400 m. His pace was only the fourth fastest through 3800 m, and he made a lot of ground very fast.
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The 25-year-old Swedish skater finished 14th in the same competition at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Van der Poel spent a year in the Swedish army and returned to the sport in 2020. He set a world record in December last year.
Last run for a legend
Sven Kramer The Netherlands entered the Winter Olympics 2022 as a triple defending gold medalist in the 5000 m. He admitted last week that it would be difficult to defend his title. He is 35 years old and underwent back surgery in May.
Kramer finished in ninth place with a time of 6: 17.04, far from his Olympic record of 6: 09.76 time 2018.
The Dutch skater is competing in his last Olympics. Kramer is the all-time leader in Olympic medals for ice skating for men with nine, and he will have the opportunity to win more in the team trial and mass start competitions.
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The United States that ends
Emery Lehman and Ethan Cepuran represented the United States in the 5000 m. Lehman, 25, finished in 16th place with a time of 6: 21.80. Cepuran, 21, placed 17th in 6: 25.97.
No American has won a medal at this distance since Chad Hedrick won the gold in 2006.
Cepuran, Lehman, Joey Mantia and Casey Dawsonwho missed 5000m after tested positive for covid-19will be a challenger in the prosecution event after setting a world record in December.
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Looking ahead
The next skating competition is the ladies’ 1500m. Brittany Bowe will skate for the United States in pursuit of his first individual Olympic medal.
Coverage begins at 3:30 a.m. ET on Monday. Visit NBCOlympics.com Too full skating schedule and to see end result from the men’s 5000m.
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