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From the Olympics Toward Tomorrow
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Romme wins men's 5,000 meters in world record
 Gianni Romme |
15:00- Start
Gianni Romme of the Netherlands roared to a new world record Sunday, after watching his previous mark eclipsed minutes earlier, leading a Dutch 1-2 finish in the men's 5,000 meters, the first speed skating event of the Nagano Olympic Winter Games.
Romme, who came into the event as the world record holder, saw his previous marked beaten twice before taking 8.43 seconds off his previous best for gold medal time of 6:22.20 at the M-Wave ice arena in Nagano.
Rintje Ritsma of the Netherlands took the silver medal and former Dutch skater Bart Veldkamp, now skating for Belgium, grabbed the bronze -- as all three medal winners bettered Romme's old mark.
Ritsma clocked 6:28.24 in adding the silver medal to a silver and a bronze he won at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics.
Veldkamp, who won the 10,000-meter gold in the 1992 games in Albertville as a Dutch citizen before a fallout with the skating federation three years ago, took bronze with 6:28.31.
Dutchman Bob De Jong was fourth, follwed by Germans Frank Dittrich in fifth and Rene Taubenrauch in sixth. Japan's Keiji Shirahata finished in seventh.
Sunday's race marked an Olympic debut of the revolutionary slap skates, which allow the heel of the skate boot to separate from the blade and thus provide an extra measure of push with each stride.
The previous Olympic record was 6:34.96, then also a world record, set by Johann Olav Koss of Norway four years ago in Lillehammer. (Kyodo News)
Results of speed skating men's 5,000 meters Sunday in the 18th Olympic Winter Games at M-Wave indoor oval, Nagano:
1. Gianni Romme, Netherlands 6 minutes, 22.20 seconds (World record)
2. Rintje Ritsma, Netherlands 6:28.24
3. Bart Veldkamp, Belgium 6:28.31
4. Bob De Jong, Netherlands 6:31.37
5. Frank Dittrich, Germany 6:32.17
6. Rene Taubenrauch, Germany 6:35.21
7. Keiji Shirahata, Japan 6:36.71
8. Kjell Storelid, Norway 6:37.12
9. Roberto Sighel, Italy 6:38.33
10. Marnix Ten Kortenaar, Austria 6:38.35
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17. Takahiro Nozaki, Japan 6:42.30
25. Hiroyuki Noake, Japan 6:51.35
26. Sergey Kaznacheyev, Kazakstan 6:51.50
27. Radik Bikchentayev, Kazakstan 6:52.65
29. Choi Jae Bong , South Korea 6:54.62
 Keiji Shirahata |
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Copyright 1998 The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun