Speed skating legend Sven Kramer in race against time as he seeks golden ending at Winter Olympics

Sven Kramer's career in speed skating career began with a bang.

As an 18-year-old he won the 2004 Junior World Championships, before taking out the prestigious Dutch Allround Championships.

Now, the Flying Dutchman is eyeing his fifth and final Winter Olympics, and still remains the man to beat in the long track 5000m (an event he has won since Vancouver 2010) if fit.

The four-time Olympic champion admits he has 'less grip than ever' following an operation in May to fix a long-term back injury.

Despite this setback, the star, who hails from the Netherlands' speed skating capital Heerenveen, believes firmly that he will medal at the Beijing 2022 Games.

“I do have faith in my own abilities,” the 35-year-old told Dutch Newspaper AD in October.

“Because at times I can still skate very hard. My condition is good, I am strong, and I sometimes hit them very hard. I hope to do that again in the Olympic qualifying tournament and at the Games.”

The message is clear: Kramer wants a golden ending to his stellar long-distance skating career.

Kramer’s meteoric rise to the top

Skating is in Kramer's blood.

His father Yep Kramer was an Olympic speed skater, and his younger sister Brecht Kramer also embraced the ice sport. But the sport wasn't an automatic fit.

Growing up, young Sven's favourite sport was cycling. But after finally committing himself to the ice, it didn't take long before he was making headlines.

The flying Dutchman entered the senior ranks with bronze at the 2005 World Allround Speed Skating Championships, before breaking the 5000m world record for the first time, a mark that he was to better several times during his career.

On his Olympic debut in Turin, he picked a silver medal in the 5000m and a bronze in the team pursuit.

“When I went to Turin 2006 at the age of 19, I’d just set my first 5,000m world record and I fancied my chances for gold. But I wasn’t yet ready, and not as strong as I was in Vancouver or Sochi. It was my first year as a pro skater and I learned a lot at my first Olympics,” he recalled.

Kramer took those lessons and, combined with an upgraded physique, took the world by storm.

He set several world records in the 10,000 metres and improved the world record in the 5,000 metres; performances that saw him named Dutch Sportsman of the Year in 2007.

The speed skating prodigy defended his 5000m gold medal at Sochi 2014 after recovering from a nerve problem in his upper leg that had kept him off ice for most of 2011, and was also part of the Dutch team that won the Team pursuit.

His 5000m time of 6:03.32 remained unbeaten for ten years, while he has won an astonishing nine World Allround titles and 21 World Distance gold medals to date.

Kramer's third Olympic title at PyeongChang 2018 - in another record time - made him the only male speed skater to win the same Olympic event three times.

His eighth Olympic medal made him the most decorated male speed skater of all time, surpassing former greats Ivar Ballangrud and Clas Thunberg.

Injury struggles for the Dutchman

Back pain forced Kramer out of the post-Olympic season in 2018.

Fast-forward three years to May 2021, and the speed skating star decided to try and fix this problem once and for all with surgery, he had his swansong Olympic Games in mind.

“I was like, 'I just don't like this anymore. This is not the standard I want to be in and in such a final season,” he said in the interview with AD,

Kramer and his partner Naomi van As, a two-time Olympic hockey champion, welcomed their daughter Kae in 2018, and the speed skater admitted that his back hurt so much that he couldn't lift her up.

His recovery was slow after surgery, but his body and mind remain as strong as ever ahead of his final Olympic cycle.

“Such an operation naturally takes a while. Both physically and mentally,” said the skater who has never been afraid to speak his mind.

Olympic focus and the next chapter

Even though Kramer is hopeful that his back will improve soon, his desire to step on the Olympic podium at his fifth Games is providing all the motivation he needs.

Dutch skaters won seven of the 14 medals in PyeongChang, and he wants to be a part of his nation's effort in Beijing.

"My season did not start the way I wanted it to. But in the end, I still accomplished some great things", Kramer said when he announced his contract extension with Team Jumbo-Visma in March 2020.

"The next Winter Olympics will take place in 2022, so anything is possible. It would be great to end my career after winning another Olympic gold medal."

Even with retirement nearing, there is no danger of Kramer losing his competitive spirit. He will be honing the next generation of skaters at his academy, and has been linked with a management role at Team Jumbo-Visma, overseeing the cycling and skating team.

“I know what I stand for," he continued. "If you want to perform, the sporting matters have to be arranged for one hundred percent. And I want to master management. I think that I can be of added value in the management team."

A Kramer masterclass to end an incredible career.