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From the Olympics Toward Tomorrow
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Pechstein beat Niemann-Stirnemann, her world record
 Claudia Pechstein |
15:00- Start
Claudia Pechstein edged Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann in a battle of world record holders Friday to lead a German 1-2 finish in the women's 5,000 meters, the final event of Nagano Olympic speed skating.
European champion Pechstein posted a world record of 6 minutes, 59.61 seconds, only less than 10 minutes after Niemann-Stirnemann became the first woman skater to complete the women's longest distance under seven minutes.
Pechstein beat Niemann-Stirnemann by a fraction of 0.04 second on the fast M-Wave indoor oval which has produced world records in five events and new Olympic records in all the 10 events at the 18th Winter Games.
''I saw a new record from Gunda and my best time before was only 7 minutes, 14 seconds, so it was very hard for me,'' the 25-year-old Pechstein said. ''Now I have world records in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters. I didn't think about the gold medal, but I have it now and I'm very happy.''
Niemann-Stirnemann broke her own 4-year-old mark by 3.61 seconds in the previous group in a bid to double up on the gold medals in the distance events, following her triumph in the 3,000 meters in which world record holder Pechstein took the silver.
Pechstein, skating in the final pairing, fell off the pace of the 31-year-old veteran by nearly one second early in the race, but gradually gained time until she was 0.17 second ahead of the world record pace at 3,400 meters.
She went into the final lap with a 0.70-second advantage and narrowly held on to defend her Olympic title in a repeat of the duel between the two Germans.
''I thought it was very hard for me to win one more gold. I didn't think about a new world record,'' Pechstein said of her second straight Olympic 5,000-meter crown.
''If Gunda had skated after Claudia, the result would have been different. Both have the same ability to skate but Gunda could have done better,'' said Stephan Gneupel, personal coach of Niemann-Stirnemann.
Despite the silver, Niemann-Stirnemann became one of the most decorated speed skaters in Olympic history with a medal count of eight -- three gold, four silver and a bronze -- over four winter games.
The eight medals matches the feat of Karin Enke-Kania of East Germany for the most Olympic medals won by a female speed skater.
''I'm very proud of what I achieved here,'' Niemann-Stirnemann said. ''When I started my career, it was more important to do what I was able to do, but what I've done means a lot to me especially after these Nagano Games.''
The bronze went to Lyudmila Prokasheva, who gave Kazakstan its second medal at the Nagano Games along with the bronze medal won by cross country skier Vladimir Smirnov in the men's 15-kilometer freestyle pursuit.
Prokasheva clocked a personal best time of 7:11.14.
Japan's Mie Uehara finished 11th in 7:21.72 while compatriot Nami Nemoto ended up in 15th in 7:36.77.
The Netherlands dominated the men's middle and long distance events, while Germany controlled the women's long distances.
Host Japan collected three medals including the men's 500-meter gold won by Hiroyasu Shimizu. (Kyodo News)
Results of speed skating women's 5,000 meters Friday in the 18th Olympic Winter Games at M-Wave indoor oval, Nagano:
1. Claudia Pechstein, Germany 6 minutes, 59.61 seconds (World record)
2. Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann, Germany 6:59.65
3. Lyudmila Prokasheva, Kazakstan 7:11.14
4. Barbara De Loor, Netherlands 7:11.81
5. Tonny De Jong, Netherlands 7:12.77
6. Carla Zijlstra, Netherlands 7:12.89
7. Kirstin Holum, U.S. 7:14.20
8. Emese Hunyady, Austria 7:15.23
9. Elena Belci, Italy 7:15.58
10. Jennifer Rodriguez, U.S. 7:16.78
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11. Mie Uehara, Japan 7:21.72
15. Nami Nemoto, Japan 7:36.77
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Copyright 1998 The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun