Dutch DQ hands Lee gold
South Korea's Lee Seung-hoon was a shock winner of the men's 10,000 metres speed skating gold after hot favourite Sven Kramer was controversially disqualified.
Last Updated: 23/02/10 11:07pm
South Korea's Lee Seung-hoon was a shock winner of the men's 10,000 metres speed skating gold after hot favourite Sven Kramer was controversially disqualified.
Dutch world champion Kramer had already dominated in the 5,000m and was expected to do the same in the 10,000m, and he duly clocked the fastest time at the Richmond Olympic Oval.
However, it turned out to be anything but a routine success for the big Dutchman as he was then sensationally disqualified for a lane violation during the race.
Kramer sat despondently in the centre of the oval and was fuming after being informed by his coach of the decision - which handed the gold to Lee.
The silver medallist behind Kramer in the 5,000m smashed his personal best by over 22 seconds with his time of 12 minutes, 58.55 seconds enough for gold despite being slower than Kramer's time.
Delight
"I'm really happy that I'm one of the first Asian skaters to win this race," said the Korean. "I don't think I will be able to sleep now that I have the gold medal."
Russian skater Ivan Skobrev claimed the silver in a time of 13:02.07, while Bob de Jong of the Netherlands, who took gold in Turin four years ago, took bronze in 13:06.73.
Although Lee set a new Olympic record for the distance, 23-year-old Kramer was a full four seconds quicker before his dream was shattered by the DQ.
"It happens in speed skating," Kramer's Dutch team-mate De Jong said.
"It is really hard to skate that fast and he missed the crossover. It really sucks."
The incident will no doubt bring back bad memories for Kramer, who also made a huge blunder in Turin as he stepped on a lane marker and stumbled, costing Holland the chance of team pursuit gold.