Team Pursuit (8 laps), Men

Looking at past results, the Dutch pursuit team were top favorites to win this event. They had won every major title since 2012, including Olympic gold in 2014. On the other hand, the Dutch also had a history of “failing” at the Olympics (with bronzes in both 2006 and 2010) and they had not particularly impressed during the 2017/2018 season. In fact, they narrowly qualified for the event, having scored two 10th places in the World Cup season (and one win). Of the other contenders, the most remarkable was New Zealand. Peter Michael, Shane Dobbin and Reyon Kay had all transferred from inline skating, and in 2017, they had claimed a team pursuit silver at the World Championships. Other contenders included Norway, Canada and South Korea.

Four of the favorites indeed reached the semi-finals, with only Canada dropping out in the first round, be it by only a small margin. In the semis, the Koreans, who had clocked the fastest time, faced off with New Zealand. The Kiwis started out ahead, but the Koreans never trailed by much. The Koreans took command with just two laps to go and qualified for the final. In the other semi, the Norwegians were superior, improving the Olympic Record, while the Dutch, somewhat hampered by a material defect of Jan Blokhuijsen’s skate, were eliminated. They then easily dispatched the New Zealanders, who did not have a substitute racer, to win the bronze. The final was initially a close contest, with Korea and Norway exchanging the lead, before the Norwegians pulled away and earned their first victory in the event.