Dutch skater Nuis sets new Olympic record to win gold in men's 1,500m

World record holder Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands edged out his rivals to win the men's 1,500-meter speed skating competition at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on Tuesday, retaining his title to continue a streak of speed skating gold medals for the Dutch team.

Nuis swept around the National Speed Skating Oval in an Olympic record 1 minute, 43.21 seconds, holding off teammate and first-time Olympian Thomas Krol by just over three tenths of a second.

Krol clinched silver in 1:43.55 and Kim Min-seok of South Korea took bronze in 1:44.24, the first medal for his country at this Winter Olympics.

Three Chinese speed skaters competed in the event, with 22-year-old Ning Zhongyan finishing seventh.

Nuis' win is the first leg of the double gold he achieved in 2018 with the 1,000m and 1,500m races. It also brings the Dutch speed skating team their third gold of the Games, keeping them on track to meet their target of 20 medals in Beijing.

Meanwhile, Jonna Sundling and Maja Dahlqvist made a one-two finish for Sweden in the cross-country skiing women's sprint free final, putting Sweden on top of the medal tally with four gold medals.

(CGTN)