Van der Poel breaks world record in men's 10,000m speed skating at Beijing

 BEIJING - Nils van der Poel of Sweden bagged his second gold medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics with a new world record in the men's 10,000m speed skating here on Friday.

The 25-year-old, who has already claimed a gold over the 5,000m distance, clocked 12 minutes and 30.74 seconds to win the race, shattering his own previous record of 12:32.95 set in February 2021.

"I am very satisfied. This was the main goal when I started three years ago. It turned out a lot better than I could have ever imagined," said Van der Poel, who became the first Swede to snatch a medal in the event since his compatriot Tomas Gustafson won in 1988.

It is also the first world record that tumbled at Beijing 2022, while the National Speed Skating Oval, dubbed the Ice Ribbon, has thus witnessed six new Olympic marks and one world record lowered in six events ever since the speed skating competitions got underway from February 5.

Dutch skater Patrick Roest seized the silver in 12:44.59, while Davide Ghiotto of Italy finished third in 12:45.98.

Women's team pursuit quarterfinals and men's 500m are scheduled for Saturday, and China's sprinter Gao Tingyu will compete to improve from his Olympic bronze medal four years ago.