5,000 metres, Men

Based on past performances, only one man would be considered for the gold: Sven Kramer. Kramer had dominated the event for the past decade, as Olympic Champion of 2010 and 2014, and runner-up of 2006 and World Champion 2007-2017 (save 2011). Even in the 2017/2018 season, Kramer had won both World Cups he contested. But some challengers to his dominance had appeared. At the Dutch Olympic Trials, Kramer was surprisingly defeated by Bob de Vries. And in the Calgary World Cup, his world record was taken by Ted-Jan Bloemen. Bloemen, who had raced for Netherlands through 2014, had since switched allegiance to Canada on account of his father’s dual citizenship. Further medal contenders were Norway’s Sverre Lunde Pedersen, winner of the Erfurt World Cup, New Zealand’s Peter Michael, bronze medalist at the 2017 Worlds, and Jan Blokhuijsen, 2014 silver medallist.

The race started with home favorite and 2010 silver medalist, Lee Seung-Hun, racing 6:14.15, a time then pipped by Michael with 6:14.07. The following pair then saw an exciting duel between Bloemen and Pedersen. The Canadian started faster, then briefly faded and he was eclipsed by the Norwegian after 3,000 m. Bloemen then fought back and bridged a one-second gap in the final to laps to cross the finish line at the same time. Examination of the photo finish was needed to determine that Bloemen had edged out Pedersen by a mere 0.002. Kramer, who had noticed all contenders had started out fast and had faded a little in the end, then used the opposite strategy in his race. Trailing by 1.6 seconds at the halfway mark, Kramer’s low 29-second laps then quickly moved him into the fastest time. His 6:09.76 at the finish meant a new Olympic Record, bettering his own mark from four years prior. His third gold in a row made Kramer the first person to win the 5,000 m gold three times, and the first male speed skater to produce a “threepeat”, after Bonnie Blair and Claudia Pechstein.