Medals update: Olympic record tumbles as Kjeld Nuis wins men's 1500m speed-skating title
The 20-year-old Olympic record was beaten twice in quick succession, as first Thomas Krol and then Kjeld Nuis set scintillating times in the 1500m speed-skating final. Netherlands' Nuis takes the gold, with compatriot Krol second and Republic of Korea's Kim Minseok third.
Speed Skating
In a sensational men's 1,500m speed skating final, the Olympic record - set all the way back in 2002 - was broken twice in quick succession as the Netherlands' Kjeld Nuis was crowned Olympic champion.
The 32-year-old Dutch skater now has three Olympic gold medals to his name, following his 1000m/1500m double at PyeongChang 2018.
Even so, this one was special.
In the race before Nuis was due to compete, his compatriot Krol laid down a marker by beating the Olympic record set in Salt Lake City in 2002. However, the world record holder Nuis can never be counted out, and he stormed home in a time of 1:43.21, some 0.34 seconds faster than Krol.
Third place went to Republic of Korea's Kim Minseok, whose time of 1:44.24 was enough to secure him a second bronze medal in as many Games in the 1500m.
But the day belongs to Nuis, who became the first back-to-back Olympic 1500m champion since Johann Olav Koss in Albertville 1992 and Lillehammer 1994.
Nuis revealed after the race that he had felt less sure of himself heading into Beijing, with only a recent win over Krol at the European Championships bolstering his self-belief.
“I can’t believe it. I’ve dreamed about this but wasn’t so confident as from four years ago," he said. “I tried to get some confidence out of my last race, which was the European Championships when I beat Thomas Krol.
“My path since the last Olympics was pretty solid. A lot of World Cup wins, two world titles. I have come far but it was the Europeans that gave me confidence.”
He also spoke about passionately about the power he found within him to surge forward and grasp the Olympic gold with both hands.
“I knew I had to be the best version of myself. It was really hard, I knew it was going to hurt. Thomas (Krol) really made a big gap in between. When I heard the shot and I started, it just felt good. I really just kept on going. Staying calm and keeping moving was my power today.”
Now the ultimate prize in sport - the Olympic gold medal - is once again in Nuis' possession after an unforgettable day of speed skating action in Beijing.