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Speedskating
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Doug Mills/AP
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Japan, S. Korea, Canada Win Golds
Japan closed out the short-track speedskating schedule in style Saturday, as Takafumi Nishitani (pictured) won the gold medal in the men's 500. South Korea's Chun Lee-Kyung won the women's 1,000 in a tight finish, and Canada won the men's 5,000 relay. The United States did not medal in any of Saturday's events and left without a medal in short-track speedskating.
 U.S.'s Final Medal Hopes Go Down in Short Track
TUESDAY: South Koreans Take First Short-Track Medals
Teammate Grabs Gold From Niemann-Stirnemann
Lionel Cironneau/AP
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Germany's Claudia Pechstein (pictured, left) watched teammate Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann become the first woman speedskater to break 7 minutes in the 5,000, then went out and did even better. Pechstein beat Niemann-Stirnemann by four-hundredths of a second and won the gold medal. It was the fifth time a world record has been set in speedskating at the Nagano Games.
Timmer Flawless to Deny Witty in Women's 1,000
File Photo
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American Chris Witty's attempts to fill the shoes of Bonnie Blair fell short Thursday, as she failed to prevent the United States from getting shut out of the speedskating gold for the first time since 1984. Marianne Timmer (pictured) of the Netherlands completed a flawless race to set an Olympic record in the 1,000 meters.
Timmer Sets World Record to Win 1,500
AP Photo
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Déjà Vu: Netherlands' Romme Shatters Another World Record
Dutch speedskater Gianni Romme (pictured) earned his second gold medal and second world record of the Nagano Games on Tuesday, winning the men's 10,000 meters. Romme, who earlier set a world record in the 5,000 meters, took 15 seconds off Johann Olav Koss's record in the 10,000 to lead a Dutch sweep. Japanese Get No Bouquets From Dutch
Postma Battles After Mistakes, Wins Men's 1,000
Ids Postma who made crucial mistakes the 500- and 1,500-meter races, won the gold medal Sunday in the 1,000. The Netherlands' Jan Bos won the silver and Hiroyasu Shimizu of Japan won the bronze. Nathaniel Mills, a part-time Washington resident, finished tied for 23rd.
BEFORE THE GAMES: 'Retiring' Mills Earns Berth
MICHAEL WILBON: Clap if You Love Speedskating
Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP
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Canadians Finish 1-2 in 500
Catriona Le May-Doan (pictured) broke her day-old Olympic record in the 500 meters Saturday and gave Canada its first gold in women's speedskating, beating teammate Susan Auch. Le May-Doan has been the world's most dominant sprinter since
switching to the revolutionary clap skate this season.
Skating Legend Impressed After Trying Clap Skates
Download a Quicktime Animation of the Clap Skate (684K)
Dan Jansen's Wife Files for Divorce
Records Keep Falling; Norway Keeps Men's 1,500 Gold
Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP
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Aadne Sondral (pictured) and six other skaters broke the world record in the 1,500 meters Thursday, as records continued to get battered. Sondral kept the gold medal in Norway, finishing in
1 minute, 47.87 seconds. Ids Postma and Rintje Ritsma, both of the Netherlands, finished second and third.
Niemann-Stirnemann, Germans Sweep 3,000
Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann of Germany, one of the most dominant
speedskaters of the past decade, redeemed herself for a
disappointing performance in Lillehammer four years ago by winning
gold Wednesday in the 3,000 meters and leading a German sweep of the event.
Shimizu Wins Japan Its First Gold Medal in Nagano
Hiroyasu Shimizu gave Japan its first gold medal of the 1998 Olympics and fourth in Winter Olympics history, winning the two-day men's 500 meter speedskating event with another record-setting effort.
AP Photo
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Miami's Rodriguez Is Warming to Ice
Jennifer Rodriguez (pictured) grew up in South Florida and had little experience with winter, much less winter sports. But like her boyfriend, KC Boutiette, she made the transition from elite in-line roller skater to world-class speedskater in a relatively short period of time. She also holds the distinction of being the first American Hispanic athlete to compete in a Winter Olympics.
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