1,500 metres, Men

Based on the past four World Championships, this competition seemed set to become a fight between two Dutchmen: 2019 and 2021 champion Thomas Krol and 2017 and 2020 champion Kjeld Nuis. Nuis, the defending Olympic champion, had had a difficult season. After summer trouble with myocarditis following COVID-19 vaccination, he had struggled in national and international competition, and had missed qualification for the 1,000 m, which he had also won in 2018. He came into the event having beaten Krol both at the Dutch Olympic Trials and at the European Championships in January.

The season’s World Cup races had been won by mass start expert Joey Mantia (twice), Chinese hope Ning Zhongyan and 2018 silver medalist Kim Min-Seok. Of the Dutch duo, Krol had only managed a single third place.

Krol was the first of the favorites to skate, in pair 10. He went all-out and shattered the leading time by Sergey Trofimov by nearly two seconds, finishing in 1:43.55, while his pair mate Peder Kongshaug moved into second with 1:44.39. Their times were tested in the very next pair, with Kim facing Nuis. Both went off at a slower pace, and Nuis was a tenth behind his compatriot at the bell. But Nuis had saved enough strength for the final lap (28.44), leading him to an Olympic Record time of 1:43.21. A second behind was Kim, who recorded the third time in 1:44.24. None of the remaining six skaters came close to the leading trio, with Connor Howe coming closest at 1:44.86 and fifth place.

Nuis’ back-to-back gold medals in the 1,500 m marked the first repeat victory since Johann Olav Koss in 1992-94, and the fourth time ever (after Clas Thunberg [1924-28] and Yevgeny Grishin [1956-60]).