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dpa
Beijing
Dutch star Irene Schouten lived up to her top billing again to complete a 3,000 and 5,000 metres Olympic speed skating double at the Beijing Games on Thursday.
Unbeaten all season, Schouten smashed the 20-year-old Olympic record from German Claudia Pechstein by 3.40 seconds in her 5,000m triumph in 6 minutes 43.51 seconds.
Canada’s Isabelle Weidemann added silver to 3,000m bronze 4.67 seconds behind, having skated ahead of Schouten in the fifth of six pairs.
Czech veteran Martina Sablikova got bronze over the distance she won twice at the Olympics and nine times at world championships, 6.58 seconds off the pace, for an overall Games tally of seven medals since 2010, three of them gold.
Having won the 3,000m earlier in Beijing, Schouten is the first skater to get an Olympic distance double since Sablikova in 2010.
The daughter of parents in the tulip business gave the skating crazy Dutch a fourth gold in five speed skating events contested so far in Beijing.
“I feel really good. Two races, two golds. I’m so happy. You cannot be better,” world champion Schouten said.
“I felt really good before the race, but I saw that Isabelle skated a really good time. I thought ,’s**t, I have to be faster than 48’. But I skated really good, so I am happy.” Weidemann said: I’m so excited. “I’m overjoyed. Winning a medal earlier in the week I thought was the top of it, so this is also very exciting. I was hoping the 3000m wasn’t a fluke.” Russian world record holder and 2020 world champion Natalia Voronina was sixth.
Italy’s 3,000m silver medallist Francesca Lollobrigida skated against Schouten again but the grand nice of famous actress Gina Lollobrigida did not stay in her slipstream this time around and finished fourth.
US win inaugural Olympic mixed team aerials gold
The United States won the inaugural Olympic mixed team aerials gold and secured their fourth gold medal on Thursday.
The US were second behind hosts China in the first round, but a stunning jump from Christopher Lillis, who had the highest score of the day with 135 points, propelled the nation into gold medal position with one run left.
Justin Schoenefeld then sealed the victory with a final jump for a total 338.34 points at the Genting Snow Park.
“This has been a three-year process for us, for me getting ready for this Olympic Games and being able to throw those quintuple twisting triples. I was just happy to get the opportunity to throw one and to put it down,” Lillis said.
Team-mate Ashley Caldwell, who had the first jump, added: “This is my fourth Games, and I’ve been in the hunt for a gold medal my entire career. To do it with these guys is incredible.”
China got silver with 324.22 points after they saw their gold medal hopes slightly fade away after Jia Zongyang fell during his landing.
“We feel very well, we did good jumps, I’m proud of my teammates but I have to congratulate with team USA because they did well,” China’s Xu Mengtao said.
Bronze went to Canada, with 290.98 points, while Switzerland missed the podium by 14.97 points.
Team Canada includes Miha Fontaine, daughter of Nicolas Fontaine, an aerials world champion, four-time World Cup winner and silver medallist when aerials was a demonstration sport at Albertville 1992.
“The competition (level) was really high, but we managed to land all of our jumps and get third position, and to continue my family legacy in freestyle skiing is amazing,” Miha Fontaine said.
The teams are composed of three competitors including both genders and each member makes one jump in each round.
Reigning world champions, the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), and Belarus were eliminated in the first round. Russian star Maxim Burov has skipped the team event to focus on the individual.
Belarus were without 2019 world champion Aliaksandra Ramanouskaya.
Beijing
Dutch star Irene Schouten lived up to her top billing again to complete a 3,000 and 5,000 metres Olympic speed skating double at the Beijing Games on Thursday.
Unbeaten all season, Schouten smashed the 20-year-old Olympic record from German Claudia Pechstein by 3.40 seconds in her 5,000m triumph in 6 minutes 43.51 seconds.
Canada’s Isabelle Weidemann added silver to 3,000m bronze 4.67 seconds behind, having skated ahead of Schouten in the fifth of six pairs.
Czech veteran Martina Sablikova got bronze over the distance she won twice at the Olympics and nine times at world championships, 6.58 seconds off the pace, for an overall Games tally of seven medals since 2010, three of them gold.
Having won the 3,000m earlier in Beijing, Schouten is the first skater to get an Olympic distance double since Sablikova in 2010.
The daughter of parents in the tulip business gave the skating crazy Dutch a fourth gold in five speed skating events contested so far in Beijing.
“I feel really good. Two races, two golds. I’m so happy. You cannot be better,” world champion Schouten said.
“I felt really good before the race, but I saw that Isabelle skated a really good time. I thought ,’s**t, I have to be faster than 48’. But I skated really good, so I am happy.” Weidemann said: I’m so excited. “I’m overjoyed. Winning a medal earlier in the week I thought was the top of it, so this is also very exciting. I was hoping the 3000m wasn’t a fluke.” Russian world record holder and 2020 world champion Natalia Voronina was sixth.
Italy’s 3,000m silver medallist Francesca Lollobrigida skated against Schouten again but the grand nice of famous actress Gina Lollobrigida did not stay in her slipstream this time around and finished fourth.
US win inaugural Olympic mixed team aerials gold
The United States won the inaugural Olympic mixed team aerials gold and secured their fourth gold medal on Thursday.
The US were second behind hosts China in the first round, but a stunning jump from Christopher Lillis, who had the highest score of the day with 135 points, propelled the nation into gold medal position with one run left.
Justin Schoenefeld then sealed the victory with a final jump for a total 338.34 points at the Genting Snow Park.
“This has been a three-year process for us, for me getting ready for this Olympic Games and being able to throw those quintuple twisting triples. I was just happy to get the opportunity to throw one and to put it down,” Lillis said.
Team-mate Ashley Caldwell, who had the first jump, added: “This is my fourth Games, and I’ve been in the hunt for a gold medal my entire career. To do it with these guys is incredible.”
China got silver with 324.22 points after they saw their gold medal hopes slightly fade away after Jia Zongyang fell during his landing.
“We feel very well, we did good jumps, I’m proud of my teammates but I have to congratulate with team USA because they did well,” China’s Xu Mengtao said.
Bronze went to Canada, with 290.98 points, while Switzerland missed the podium by 14.97 points.
Team Canada includes Miha Fontaine, daughter of Nicolas Fontaine, an aerials world champion, four-time World Cup winner and silver medallist when aerials was a demonstration sport at Albertville 1992.
“The competition (level) was really high, but we managed to land all of our jumps and get third position, and to continue my family legacy in freestyle skiing is amazing,” Miha Fontaine said.
The teams are composed of three competitors including both genders and each member makes one jump in each round.
Reigning world champions, the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), and Belarus were eliminated in the first round. Russian star Maxim Burov has skipped the team event to focus on the individual.
Belarus were without 2019 world champion Aliaksandra Ramanouskaya.
