BEIJING – 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.
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