Holland's Kramer Takes Gold in Men's 5000 Meters

By The Moscow Times

Feb. 8, 2014

The Dutch trio brought The Netherlands to the top of the Olympic medals counter on Saturday. Vladimir Baranov

Dutchman Sven Kramer successfully defended his Olympic title, taking gold in the men's 5000-meter speed skating event.

Kramer finished with a time of 6:10:76 minutes, beating fellow countrymen Jan Blokhuijsen and Jorrit Bergsma, who came in second and third place, respectively.

The trio were favorites for the top medal spots.

Kramer will be looking to add to his medal haul in the men's 10,000-meter speed skating event, which is scheduled to take place on Feb.18. In 2010, Kramer finished first in the event, only to be disqualified for going outside of his lane after his coach issued him with incorrect directions.

Russia's Denis Yuskov and Ivan Skobrev finished sixth and seventh, respectively, with Alexander Rumyantsev finishing 11th in the field of 26 competitors.

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