Speed skating-Norway's Eitrem crushes field to seize 5,000m crown

MILAN, Feb 8 : World record holder Sander Eitrem lived up to his billing as the favourite, as the Norwegian stormed to gold in the 5,000 metres at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics on Sunday.

Czech Republic's Metodej Jilek claimed silver, while Italy's Riccardo Lorello delighted the home crowd with bronze.

The 23-year-old Eitrem - who became the first athlete to skate the distance in under 6 minutes at the Speed Skating World Cup in Inzell in January - secured Norway's 29th Olympic gold medal in the sport at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium.

He stopped the clock in an Olympic-record time of 6 minutes 03.95 seconds, finishing 2.53 seconds ahead of Jilek.

Competing in his first Olympics, Eitrem ensured there were no surprises despite a field that included Timothy Loubineaud, Jilek, Casey Dawson and home favourite Davide Ghiotto, all considered contenders after strong World Cup performances.

Drawn in the second-last pair and skating the outer lane alongside 19-year-old Jilek, Eitrem got off to a terrible start but recovered quickly, settling into his rhythm as the crowd roared him on. At the finish, he thumped his chest in celebration.