MILAN, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Norwegian world record holder Sander Eitrem broke the Olympic mark here on Sunday to claim the gold medal of the men's 5,000 meters speed skating event at the Milan-Cortina Games.
23-year-old Eitrem, who had become the first to skate the distance in under six minutes by winning the World Cup race in 5:58.52 in Inzell, Germany two weeks ago, clocked 6:03.95 at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium, breaking the previous Olympic record of 6:08.84 set by Sweden's Nils van der Poel in Beijing four years ago.
"I have to say I am relieved. After Inzell the pressure was high," said Eitrem, adding that he felt super happy because he managed to pull the pressure off.
"I skated my best race, so [it's] a big, big dream coming true," he added. "The key was to be relaxed and think about it as a normal race. If I do that, I can skate fast. I do not have to overcomplicate things, just keep it simple."
Starting together with Eitrem in the ninth pair, Metodej Jilek of the Czech Republic finished 2.53 seconds behind to secure silver, while home skaters Riccardo Lorello and Davide Ghiotto settled for third and fourth in 6:09.22 and 6:09.57, respectively.
"It [the medal] means a lot of hard work, a lot of hours. Not just this season, but my whole life. What I sacrificed for the training and for the sport," said Jilek, who will contend for the 10,000m gold on Friday.
Liu Hanbin, the first Chinese to participate in this event at an Olympic Games since Turin 2006, placed 17th among 20 competitors in 6:24.25. ■
