Irene Schouten sets Olympic record to win gold in women's speedskating

Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Irene Schouten of the Netherlands broke an Olympic record that stood for two decades to win the gold medal in the women's 3000m speedskating event Saturday at the Winter Games in Beijing.

Schouten turned in a blazing final lap at National Speed Skating Oval to finish the race in 3:56.93. She broke the previous Olympic record of 3:57.70 that was set by Germany's Claudia Pechstein at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

"I had a lot of pressure from not only the medalists but also from myself," said Schouten, who has dominated the long-distance events on the World Cup circuit this season. "I made it, so I was really happy."

Italy's Francesca Lollobrigida, a three-time Olympian, took the silver medal with a time of 3:58.06. The bronze medal went to Isabelle Weidemann of Canada, who finished the race in 3:58.64.

Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic, who has captured six Olympic medals, held the top position with two pairs to go but failed to reach the podium. She finished fourth with her time of 4:00.34.

American skater Mia Manganello-Kilburg ended the event in 19th with a time of 4:13.42. The U.S. hasn't won an individual speedskating medal since 2010.