Irene Schouten (C) of the Netherlands, Isabelle Weidemann (L) of Canada and Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic attend the flower ceremony after the speed skating women's 5,000m event at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 10, 2022. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)
BEIJING, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Dutch speed skater Irene Schouten snatched her second gold medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics with a new Olympic record in the women's 5,000m here on Thursday.
The Dutchwoman, who has already won the women's 3,000m, clocked a winning time of six minutes and 43.51 seconds, lowering the Olympic record of 6:46.91 set by German Claudia Pechstein 20 years ago.
"I feel really good. Two races, two golds. I'm so happy. You cannot be better," said Schouten, who is now closer to her quest of becoming the second female speed skater in history to win four golds at a single Olympic journey. The 29-year-old will then compete in the women's mass start and team pursuit.
This is the fifth Olympic record shattered in as many events at the National Speed Skating Oval, or known as the Ice Ribbon, and the fourth gold medal for the Netherlands, all of which came from speed skating competitions.
Long distance World Cup leader Isabelle Weidemann of Canada seized the silver with a personal best of 6:48.18, while Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic finished third in 6:50.09.
Chinese skater Han Mei set her personal record of 7:08.37 to take the 11th place. "I haven't done much training in endurance, so I think my performance was not that good nor that bad," said the 24-year-old who gave credit to the smooth ice of the Ice Ribbon. ■
Irene Schouten of the Netherlands celebrates after the speed skating women's 5,000m event at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 10, 2022. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)
Irene Schouten of the Netherlands competes during the speed skating women's 5,000m event at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 10, 2022. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)
Natalia Voronina of ROC competes during the speed skating women's 5,000m event at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 10, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)
Sanne In't Hof of the Netherlands competes during the speed skating women's 5,000m event at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 10, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)
Han Mei of China reacts during the speed skating women's 5,000m event at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 10, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)
Han Mei of China competes during the speed skating women's 5,000m event at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 10, 2022. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)
Irene Schouten of the Netherlands celebrates after the speed skating women's 5,000m event at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 10, 2022. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)
Han Mei (R) of China and Magdalena Czyszczon of Poland compete during the speed skating women's 5,000m event at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 10, 2022. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)
Han Mei of China competes during the speed skating women's 5,000m event at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 10, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Jianwei)
Han Mei of China competes during the speed skating women's 5,000m event at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 10, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Jianwei)
Sanne In't Hof of the Netherlands competes during the speed skating women's 5,000m event at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 10, 2022. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)
Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic greets the audience during the speed skating women's 5,000m event at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 10, 2022. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)
Isabelle Weidemann of Canada competes during the speed skating women's 5,000m event at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 10, 2022. (Xinhua/Cheng Tingting)
Isabelle Weidemann of Canada reacts during the speed skating women's 5,000m event at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 10, 2022. (Xinhua/Cheng Tingting)
