Winter Olympics 2022 - Records tumble as Dutch speed skater Kjeld Nuis retains 1500m title in Beijing
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Updated 08/02/2022 at 13:52 GMT
The world record holder showed his class by breaking an Olympic record which had only just been set by Dutch team-mate Thomas Krol - who set a quicker time than the previous mark recorded 20 years ago. Bronze went to South Korea's Minseok Kim. Watch every moment of the Games on discovery+.
'Boom! Olympic record' - Nuis nails 'magic' race to take speed skating gold
Dutch speed skater Kjeld Nuis produced the best ever WInter Olympics performance in the 1500m to retain his title ahead of team-mate Thomas Krol in Beijing.
Nuis set a new Olympic record time of 1:32.21 to secure the third Games gold of his career, immediately after Krol had broken an Olympic record which had stood for 20 years. Bronze went to South Korea's Minseok Kim.
Cornelius Kersten, the first British man to compete in Olympic speed skating in three decades, finished 19th after fading on the final lap.
The competition really got going when the second half of skaters took the ice, and Dutchman Krol made himself the man to beat when he broke an Olympic record set at Salt Lake City 2002 with a mark of 1:43.55.
But it was a case of 'anything you can do, I can do better' from Nuis, who edged ahead by 0.34 seconds. It is a mark of how far the sport has come in 20 years, given Salt Lake City is at altitude - and the place where Nuis set the world record three years ago with a time roughly three seconds quicker.
The victory was a bit of revenge for Nuis, who was beaten by Krol at the World Championships in Heerenveen last year, and he celebrated emphatically with his coaches inside the rink.
Nuis will look to secure the double when he defends his 1000m title next Friday.
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