Norway's Eitrem smashes 5000m speed skating world record in Germany

Norwegian ‍Sander Eitrem shattered the men's 5000m world record Saturday at the ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Inzell, Germany, winning the event in five ​minutes and 58.52 seconds.

Eitrem is the first speed skater to skate the 5000m in under six minutes. The previous record of 6:00.23 was set in November by Frenchman Timothy Loubineaud in Salt Lake ​City, U.S.

The 23-year-old, who finished third in the long distances overall standings, looked ⁠stunned with his achievement ​after crossing the line at the Max Aicher Arena, throwing his goggles in the air in celebration before putting his hands on his head in disbelief.

"I ⁠am still speechless," Eitrem told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.

"It probably hasn't fully sunk in yet. Being the first under six minutes has ‍been a dream since I was little, so the fact that I actually am the first, it's incredibly big."

Norway's Sander Eitrem breaks men's 5,000-metre long track speed skating World Record

Loubineaud trailed in more than five seconds behind ⁠Eitrem in third place. Czech Metoděj Jílek finished second in 6:01.98, ​enough to win top spot overall for the 19-year-old.

American Jordan ​Stolz continued his dominance, winning the final 1000m race of ‍the World Cup and topping the overall standings after victory in all five races to ‍add to the ⁠1500m title he won on Friday.

Stolz also holds an insurmountable lead in the 500m standings ahead of Sunday’s final race.

Canada’s Ted-Jan Bloemen finished at the bottom of the 5000m event with a time of 6:25.172, more than 26 seconds behind Eitrem.

Speed skating at the Milano-Cortina Winter Games takes place from February 7 to 21.