5,000 metres, Men

This distance was expected to be a Dutch-Norwegian battle. Early in the season, Johann Olav Koss had broken the world record in this distance on the Olympic ice, skating 6:35.53, well ahead of his Dutch rivals. But at the European Championships, also skated at the Olympic rink in Hamar, Koss had not been in great shape, and had placed only fourth, with Rintje Ritsma winning. The Dutch had also prepared a )secret weapon) for the Olympics, a new aerodynamic cover for the skates. It was officially called the delta skate, but went by other nicknames such as the )condom skate) or FTN-skate ()F*** the Norwegians) skate). Used only by Ritsma, the new skate was not very successful, and it would never be used again in competition.

The first contender to race was Kjell Storelid, a Norwegian. He had only once placed on the World Cup podium (in January 1994), but had been a consistent top 10 skater at the distance. Cheered on by his compatriots, he skated the best race of his life with 6:42.68. This seemed beatable by 1993 World Champion Falko Zandstra, but he faded badly late in the race and ended at 6:44.58. Then, it was Koss, who started with his own world record schedule in mind. Skating incredibly flat - all laps were between 30.86 and 32.01 - Koss beat his own mark by half a second: 6:34.96. Two pairs later, Ritsma attempted a do-or-die race. Starting faster than the Norwegian, his splits were over two seconds faster at 1,800 m. But his fast pace cost him dearly, and Ritsma eventually wound up in third place with 6:43.94, well above his own best time.