De Jong beats Hedrick to 10,000m gold

TURIN (Reuters) – Dutch speedskater Bob de Jong won the
men’s 10,000 meters at the Turin Olympics on Friday.

De Jong built up a world-record pace halfway through and,
fired on by a Dutch crowd clocked laps below 32 seconds until
the end.

Skating to chants of “Holland, Holland,” the Dutchman, who
had won silver in the distance at the 1998 Nagano Games,
maintained his speed to set an unbeatable time of 13:01.57.

American Chad Hedrick claimed silver with 13:05.40 while de
Jong’s compatriot Carl Verheijen finished third in 13:08.80.