Winter Olympics - Nils van der Poel wins 5000m speed skating gold and sets new record at Beijing 2022

ByJames Hilsum

Updated 06/02/2022 at 12:43 GMT

It looked like Patrick Roest from the Netherlands would win the race after briefly setting a new Olympic record time of 6:09.31 halfway through the event. But the Dutchman had to settle for silver after a blistering last lap from van der Poel. Norway’s Hallgeir Engebraaten took the bronze medal with his time of 6:09.88.

Nils van de Poel provided a breath-taking finish to the men’s 5,000 speed skating final by producing a blistering final lap to snatch the gold medal and set a new Olympic record.

The Swede trailed the leading time, set by Patrick Roest from the Netherlands, by more than two seconds with just three laps left before switching into high gear. He was still one second behind when the bell rang for the final lap but had enough left in the tank to storm into first place, clocking an Olympic record time of 6:08.84.

The 25-year-old now adds an Olympic gold to his world record and world championship title, further enhancing his undoubted pedigree in the event.

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For much of the race, it looked like Roest would win the race after briefly setting a new Olympic record time of 6:09.31 halfway through the event. He then watched as several pairings failed to beat his time, but had to bury his face in his hands in disappointment when he had to settle for the silver medal. Norway’s Hallgeir Engebraaten took the bronze medal with his time of 6:09.88.

Much of the pre-race focus was on van de Poel and Sven Kramer, with the latter having won the gold medal at this 5,000 event in each of the previous three Olympics.

The Dutchman was hoping to leave the biggest stage on a high, with this set to be his final games. He took to the ice first alongside Denmark's Viktor Hald Thorup, and set a benchmark time of 6.17 04 – some way short from his previous Olympic record 6:09.76.

However, it didn’t take long for not one, but two skaters to surpass Kramer’s time, in a pairing which pitted together Engebraaten and the ROC’s Sergei Trofimov.

Sven Kramer missed out on a podium finish

Image credit: Getty Images

The duo initially propelled themselves into the gold and silver medal positions respectively with times of 6:09.88 and 6:10.27 to end Kramer’s hopes of claiming top spot in this event for a fourth consecutive Olympics.

Patrick Roest led the way for much of the race.

Image credit: Getty Images

This was speed skating of the very highest quality, as Kramer’s compatriot Roest blew the competition out of the water by setting a new Olympic record to take the gold medal position halfway through the event.

Kramer’s hopes of a podium finish were dashed, and he slipped down to a ninth-place finish in the final standings with a time of 6:17.04.

But the headlines belong to van der Poel, who clinched gold in the truly stunning fashion, leaving Roest in his wake.

The speed skating continues on Monday at 8.30 UK time, as the women’s 1500m takes place at the National Speed Skating Oval.

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