|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
The men's 5,000 meters mark established only two months ago was smashed three times in under an hour and finally lowered by eight seconds -- with the help of a few twisting strips of black rubber stuck to the skaters' suits.
Rival teams reckoned the modification, only formally approved by the sport's governing body 24 hours earlier, could slice 0.5 of a second per lap from a racer's time by reducing drag.
Dutch head coach Henk Gemser reckoned they probably gave a racer a one second advantage over the 12.5-lap race. [Editor's note: Looks like Dutch spin here. My math says it should be a 6.25 second advantage --pjb]
The zig-zagging thin rubber strips, two of which are worn on each shin and one over the forehead, break up the air and help reduce vacuum pockets that can fractionally slow a racer.
Similar strips have already been banned in Alpine skiing and Gemser took the microphone at the medal-winners' news conference to keep the strips secret following years of research at the Technical University in the Dutch town of Delft.
"I try to be professional. All that is in the rules I have to use to get the first prize," Gemser said.
Gemser explained that research began on ways to improve times after a disappointing showing by the Dutch at the 1994 Lillehammer Games. One of the fruits of that research was the redesigned hinged "slap skates" that have seen speed skating records tumble already -- with the Dutch in the vanguard.
First up with a record on Sunday was Dutch veteran Bart Veldkamp, now racing as Belgium's one-man team after a row with the Dutch squad over qualifying races. Veldkamp's girlfriend still skates for the Netherlands and he had managed to get hold of the rubber strips.
The former Olympic champion made his usual sluggish start, but cranked himself up to become the first man under six minutes 30 over five kilometers.
His time of 6:28.31 took more than two seconds off the previous mark of 6:30.63.
Twenty-five minutes later Rintje Ritsma enjoyed a superb start, beating Veldkamp over successive lap times around the 400-meter track and holding on for a time of 6:28.24.
Three records were set but only one gold medal awarded, to team number one Gianni Romme, who set the previous mark in December.
Skating in the last of 16 pairs, Romme set off like a madman, apparently unaware it was meant to be an endurance event.
He kept up an incredible pace to bring the record down to 6:22.20 -- the only time that will make the record books.
His effort was nearly 13 seconds inside the previous Olympic mark set by Norway's Johann Olav Koss at Lillehammer, which stood as a world record until Romme broke it in December.
Other teams greeted the Dutch coup with a mixture of admiration and frustration. Other squads, including the Canadians and Americans, made last-minute experiments with the strips, but without getting it right.
U.S. skater K.C. Boutiette, who set a national record of 6:39.67 to finish 14th, said he was "inspired" by the Dutch performances.
"I think it's great for the sport. Sports can get in a rut sometimes, but this really opens the door," he said.
Austrian Marnix Ten Kortennaar tried the strips, but only used one on each leg and did not receive the full benefit of their aerodynamic effect as he finished 10th.
Ten Kortenaar, who is of Dutch extraction, is sponsored by and works at the Delft university, admitted with embarrassment that he helped invent the racing strips. He said the university's tests had shown a probable advantage of five seconds over 5,000 meters.
"So Gianni Romme would still have won the gold -- his gold is as gold as it can be. There is no doubt about it."