Beijing 2022 Speed skating wrap-up - top stories, moments and records

Records are meant to be broken, and we have witnessed these historic moments no fewer than 14 times across as many disciplines contested at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing.

The Netherlands continued their dominance in the sport as Irene Schouten set the tone in the early stages of Beijing 2022. The 29-year-old set an Olympic record in women’s 3000m to win the gold on the first day, before going on to set another Olympic record in 5000m to grab her second gold five days later. Both records had been previously set 20 years ago in Salt Lake City by Germany’s Claudia Pechstein, who made a record eighth Olympics appearance in Beijing at the age of 49.

Another veteran took centre stage in women’s 1500m, where legendary Ireen Wüst broke the Olympic record to win her third gold in the distance and her sixth Olympic title. The 35-year-old also grabbed a bronze in team pursuit to take her medal tally to 13 in five Winter Games: six golds, five silvers and two bronzes.

In the men’s events, Sweden’s Nils van der Poel stole the show by becoming the new champion in 5000m and 10000m, dethroning Dutch legend and Sven Kramer in the process. The 25-year-old also set the Olympic records in both distances, with the latter being a new world record as well. However, that was not enough to prevent the Team NL from rounding off another successful campaign as Thomas Krol and Kjeld Nuis finished first in 1000m and 1500m respectively.

Meanwhile, the final day of the competition saw Bart Swings win the men’s mass start to claim Belgium’s first Winter Games gold since 1948, before Schouten completed her individual treble by adding another gold in the mass start.

Dutch legend Ireen Wüst successfully defended her title in women’s 1500m to