BEIJING (Reuters) -Dutchman Thomas Krol swept around the National Speed Skating Oval on Friday to win the men’s 1,000 metres race at the Beijing Olympics, handing the Netherlands its 11th medal in speed skating at this Winter Games.
Although slow to start, the 29-year-old quickly gained pace and finished as the only skater with a time within one minute and eight seconds, crossing the finish line in 1:07.92.
Racing in the last pairing, silver medallist Laurent Dubreuil made an explosive start, at times holding a 0.7 second lead over Krol before losing pace in the last portion of the race.
Krol waited tensely on the sidelines as he watched the last races, before raising his fists in victory and covering his face in apparent disbelief when his gold medal was confirmed.
“I was just praying in the next ten minutes that nobody was going to beat it. And nobody did – it’s just a dream that came true, something you live for for your whole life,” he said.
“When (Dubreuil) didn’t make my time I was just overwhelmed with emotions,” he added, saying that he called his girlfriend after winning the top prize to share the moment with her.
His title makes the Netherlands the first country to win three consecutive gold medals in the distance.
He beat compatriot and previous Olympic champion Kjeld Nuis in the Dutch qualifiers to earn his spot on the start line of the men’s 1,000m.
With his gold medal, Krol finally justified his multiple attempts to represent the Netherlands in the Olympics.
Krol wasn’t fast enough to qualify for Sochi in 2014. He had then hoped to make his debut at Pyeongchang after finishing third in the 2018 Dutch Olympic Trials, but his best friend Kai Verbij was chosen for the last spot instead.
“That was pretty strange, of course,” Krol recalled. “I was going for revenge over the past four years, (and) I grew as a person… I became a different skater.”
Canada’s Dubreuil claimed silver in 1:08.32 and Haavard Holmefjord Lorentzen of Norway took bronze in 1:08.48.
Dubreuil, who had been slated as a favourite for the 500m, also found redemption in winning silver after a week struggling with disappointment of finishing fourth in the 500m.
“It was amazing to go from a pretty deep low after the 500m… it’s just crazy being able to turn it around that much,” an ecstatic Dubreuil said.
“Today I just decided to show up here and have fun and skate lighter on the ice, just relax… It allowed me to skate better and enjoy the moment,” he added.
(Reporting by Sakura Murakami; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Christian Radnedge)
