China's Ning Zhongyan skates to Olympic 1,500m gold, denying Stolz 3rd straight win in Milan

Chinese speed skater Ning Zhongyan beat the odds, upending pre-race favourite Jordan Stolz of the United States to win the men’s Olympic 1,500 metres on Thursday.

Ning, who claimed bronze in the men's 1,000 on Feb. 11, delivered an Olympic-record performance in one minute 41.98 seconds, minutes before Stolz raced in the 15th and final pairing at Milano Speed Skating Stadium.

Earlier at these Games, the 21-year-old Stolz set Olympic marks in winning the 500 and 1,000.

A win Thursday would have made him the second American athlete to collect three or more gold medals in any sport at a single Winter Games.

Fellow Wisconsin native Eric Heiden took gold in each of his five speed skating events at the 1980 Games in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Stolz, the reigning two-time World Cup champion in the 1,500, won eight of the last nine races on the World Cup circuit.

David La Rue of Saint-Lambert, Que., was top Canadian in Thursday's race, 15th in the 30-man field in 1:46.02 at his first Olympics. Teammate Daniel Hall of Salmon Arm, B.C. was 23rd (1:46.91).