5,000 metres, Men

The clear favorite for this event was Ivar Ballangrud, the 1928 champion. He had bettered the World Record in January (8:17.2), and had convincingly won the 5000 m at the recent World Championships. However, there were a few dangerous competitors. Austria’s Max Stiepl had beaten Ballangrud at the European Championships, clocking an impressive 8:20.7 along the way. Much was also expect of the US’s Eddie Schroeder, Finland’s Birger Wasenius. In his own team, Ballangrud could expect competition from Charles Mathiesen, with a season best of 8:20,2.

The early lead was taken by Antero Ojala, a 19-year-old unknown from Finland. Skating in good ice and weather conditions, none of the skaters could come close to his time, until Ballangrud took the ice. The Norwegian laid down a very “flat” race, and had the advantage of being able to skate towards his pairmate, Aleksander Mitt, who was nearly a lap behind at the finish. Ballangrud’s finishing time was just 2 seconds above the World Record. Three races later, the runner-up of the World Championships, Wasenius, took the ice against Jan Langedijk, of the Netherlands. They would be the fastest pair of the race. Birger Wasenius kept close to Ballangrud’s split times, but lost several seconds in the final laps, while Langedijk came equally close to Ojala’s third place time, but ended up in fourth. None of the remaining skaters came close, and Ballangrud collected his third Olympic gold medal, his second in the 5000 m.