Dutch flier earns Netherlands its fifth speed skating gold of Beijing Games

Dutch power proved too fast for the rest of the world again as Thomas Krol won the men's 1,000m to claim the Netherlands' fifth speed skating gold at Beijing 2022.

Although arriving in Beijing as a hot favorite in the distance, Krol, this season's World Cup leader, still took time to process the magnitude of the biggest victory of his career.

"This is just fantastic. I'm crazy happy with this gold medal," said Krol, who edged out Canada's Laurent Dubreuil by 0.4 seconds to finish first in 1 min 07.92 sec in a thrilling race at the National Speed Skating Oval.

Haavard Holmefjord Lorentzen of Norway completed the podium, taking bronze in 1:08.48.

"This is really a dream come true. I don't have proper words for it. Well, I do have words, of course, otherwise the interview would be pretty boring (laughs)," said Krol, who also won silver medal in the men's 1,500m.

"This is something you hope for for so long. I knew I was one of the favorites and based on my season I was the top favorite. To pull it off is just amazing."

By winning his first Olympic title in Beijing, Krol's victory took the Netherlands' total gold haul in speed skating at Beijing 2022 to five, far ahead of second-placed Sweden's two.

The Netherlands has now extended its all-time Olympic medal count in speed skating to a whopping total of 132, including 47 gold.

Beijing 2022's speed skating oval, dubbed the "Ice Ribbon" for its sleek look, has witnessed Olympic records broken 10 times, including a new world record in the men's 10,000m. That ties the figure for most new ORs at one edition of a Winter Games－Salt Lake City in 2002.

Home star upbeat

Despite failing to finish on the podium again, China's Ning Zhongyan still hailed his Olympic debut as an invaluable experience.

"I am actually quite satisfied with my performance today compared to my first event in 1,000m," Ning said after clocking 1:08.60 to finish fifth in the 1,000m on Friday.

"It's a pity that I did not make it to the podium, especially after coming up short in my strongest event, the 1,500m, last week. I think I am a better skater after going through disappointments on the Olympic stage and regrouping myself to perform better in my second event," said Ning, who bagged three World Cup golds (1,500m, 1,000m and team pursuit) in the lead-up to Beijing 2022.

However, the pressure to deliver China's first gold in men's speed skating on home ice proved too much for Ning to shoulder after he skated a sub-par time of 1:45.28 to finish seventh in 1,500m on Feb 8. His teammate Gao Tingyu later helped the host win its first men's speed skating gold in 500m on Feb 12.

"I was just too nervous for the 1,500m race. I had very high expectations on myself, maybe too much for me to skate as freely as I am capable of," said Ning, a 22-year-old Heilongjiang native.

"Still, I didn't lose confidence in myself. Our national program has provided the best possible support in training and logistics as well as pandemic prevention for us to improve our level. I will keep working hard in the national team and hopefully at the next Games in Milan I can bring out a stronger self on the world stage."