Irene Schouten breaks another Olympic record with gold in 5,000-meter speedskating

Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Irene Schouten of the Netherlands won a gold medal Thursday in the women's 5,000-meter speed skating event at the Winter Games, setting an Olympic record with a time of 6:43.41 and capturing her second gold in Beijing.

In doing so, she took more than three seconds off the record set by Germany's Claudia Pechstein at the 2022 Winter Games in Utah.

"I felt really good before the race, but I saw that Isabelle [Weidemann] skated a really good time, and I thought 'I have to be faster than [6:48]," Schouten told reporters after the win. "But I skated really good, so I am happy."

Schouten increased her speed in each of her final four laps. Her last 400 meters was 31.18 seconds, which was her best time of the race. She held the first-place pace through the final eight laps and defeated Weidemann by nearly five seconds.

Canada's Isabelle Weidemann won the silver and Czech legend Martina Sablikova, 34, notched the bronze. It was the seventh Olympics medal won by Sabikova, who is now the most decorated athlete from her country.

Schouten, 29, won the 3,000-meter race Saturday, also in record time.

Schouten proudly displayed her first gold medal from Beijing in a post Saturday on her Instagram account.