Speed skating was one of Sochi’s most anticipated events, and it has fulfilled that anticipation. I had the privilege of seeing the full live coverage of the men’s 5000 M and the women’s 3000 M. I was on the edge of my seat nearly the entire time in both competitions. The men’s race started with the United States’ low-seeded Patrick Meek who did not put up an impressive fight against his Polish opponent. The Italian and French racers in the proceeding heat topped Meek’s time as well. Korea’s and Japan’s racers’ heat followed this and turned out to be a very interesting race. Both speed skaters started out with very slow lap times but decided to haul in the final laps. Unfortunately, their strategy failed and both missed spots on the leaderboard.
The American crowd then burst into cheers as 17 year-old Emery Lehman of Chicago took his starting stance. Immediately after this, the Russian crowd screamed in support of their racer, Yuskov. The United States really thought that Lehman could beat the Russian racer, but as the competition took off, it was clear that it was a futile dream. Yuskov blew Lehman out of the water with a time of 6:19:51. Another Russian, Ivan Skobrev raced in the next heat against New Zealander Shane Dobbin. Skobrev easily beat Dobbin and finished with a time just behind his teammate Yuskov.
Things were not looking good for the United States as Russia owned higher spots on the leaderboard than them. Though, on the next heat, a third Russian racer failed to produce a good performance against a Kazakhstan racer. The stage was set for something big to happen, and that big thing was Sven Kramer.
Kramer, a Dutch skater, owned the audience’s focus as he started his race. The man is a machine and proved it. He started off slow against his U.S. opponent Jonathan Kuck. However, he quickly increased his lap times and passed the American racer. His final lap was flying fast, and he finished with an incredible time of 6:10:75. Kramer had won a gold medal in Vancouver , but had been disqualified in another race. It was clear he was here to prove his worth. With the United States looking stunned in the background, it was time for the Dutch to take over.
Jorrit Bergsma, Kramer’s teammate, made an incredible performance against his Norwegian opponent, Pederson. However, Bergsma was not able to stay at Kramer’s time, even though he was there for quite a while. Bergsma fell into 2nd place, but there were still two heats left. Next, the final Dutch competitor, Blockhuijsen, took on Belgium racer, Bart Swings. Both speed skaters started out ahead of Kramer’s time and were neck and neck for most of the race. Gradually, both fell behind Kramer’s amazing time but stayed close together. It was not until the final lap that that Blockhuijsen pulled away from Swings with a fantastic time, putting him second place. The standings showed that a Dutch sweep was bound to happen, but there was still one heat left.
The Dutch fans, the Dutch royalty, and the Dutch racers held their breath as Korean Lee Seung-Hoon and German Patrick Beckert took their starting spots. Lee was the only one predicted to be a challenge to Kramer, and he could upset an amazing Dutch victory. The race began and no one knew what was to happen. The pair did not start out with the leader’s time, but stayed neck and neck. In the middle of the race, the Dutch crowd began to hope that their dreams were coming true; the Dutch racers prayed that their times would stand. As the final bell went off, signifying the final lap, Beckert surprised the crowd by moving ahead of Lee. Could this be a miracle move? No. Both racers finished in times far slower than the leader. The Dutch had swept the event. Kramer earned gold, Blockhuijsen, silver, and Bergsma, bronze.
The arena was filled with screams and shouts as orange surged in support of The Netherlands. The Dutch, the creators of speed skating, had proved their heritage. This was just one of the many surprises Sochi had waiting for us.