Winter Olympics - Nils van der Poel wins 5,000m speed skating gold and sets new record at Beijing 2022

Nils van de Poel provided a breath-taking finish to the men’s 5,000 speed skating final by producing a blistering final lap to snatch the gold medal and set a new Olympic record. The Swede trailed the leading time, set by Patrick Roest from the Netherlands, by more than two seconds with just three laps left before switching into high gear. He was still one second behind when the bell rang for the final lap but had enough left in the tank to storm into first place, clocking an Olympic record time of 6:08.84.

Ad/> The 25-year-old now adds an Olympic gold to his world record and world championship title, further enhancing his undoubted pedigree in the event. /> Beijing 2022'I don't know how he did it' — Van der Poel claims stunning gold in 5000m speed skatingAN HOUR AGO For much of the race, it looked like Roest would win the race after briefly setting a new Olympic record time of 6:09.31 halfway through the event. He then watched as several pairings failed to beat his time, but had to bury his face in his hands in disappointment when he had to settle for the silver medal.

Norway’s Hallgeir Engebraaten took the bronze medal with his time of 6:09.88. Much of the pre-race focus was on van de Poel and Sven Kramer, with the latter having won the gold medal at this 5,000 event in each of the previous three Olympics. 'Amazing' — China win speed skating mixed relay for first gold at Beijing 2022 'Fantastic Olympic record' — Schouten storms to 3000m speed skating gold The Dutchman was hoping to leave the biggest stage on a high, with this set to be his final games.