Several teams, including Norway and Japan, filed complaints with the International Skating Union (ISU) about the stripes which the Dutch had glued to the head and lower legs of their body suits to reduce air turbulence.

''I saw it for the first time today. We waited until the end of the competition and protested with the Japanese team,'' said Norway national coach Sletten Svein Havard.

Havard said he thinks the stripes violate ISU Rule 276 on skaters' equipment, which states, ''Insertion or attachment of forms or devices to create a different shape is not permitted.''

Yet the ISU turned down the complaints. ISU referee Folkert Brouwer said the stripes do not violate the rule and are allowed to be used during the Nagano Olympics.

''We applied to the ISU for permission three days ago and we got the green light yesterday to use them,'' Dutch coach Henke Gemsar said. ''The Canadians have also been using the stripes, so it's no secret,'' Henke noted.

Henke said a university laboratory in the Netherlands has been conducting aerodynamic studies since the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics to help skaters skate faster and the new stripes are similar to the use of revolutionary slap skates.

On Sunday, the Netherland's Gianni Romme won the 5,000-meter gold medal by shaving a stunning 8.43 seconds off his own world record after countryman Rintje Ritsma and Bart Veldkamp of Belgium broke the two-month-old mark by about two seconds.

Romme and Ritsma were seen skating with the new stripes while Veldkamp did not use them. Henke said the stripes contribute to shortening race times only by a ''small fraction.''

Japan's national team officials admitted they joined the complaints for a possible violation of the ISU rule.

Top Japanese long distance skater Keiji Shirahata, the overall silver medalist in last year's world championship, settled for seventh place to become the best performer of the host country. (Kyodo News)