KJELD NUIS of the Netherlands became the first speedskater since 1994 to successfully defend his Olympic title in today’s men’s 1,500m, edging out countryman Thomas Krol at the Beijing Games.

Krol, the reigning world champion, broke the 20-year-old Olympic record in his race — but Nuis went even faster in the very next pair, crossing the line with a blistering time of 1 minute, 43.21 seconds.

There were still three pairs to go, but no-one came close to the Dutch duo. Nuis took his country’s third gold in four events at these games, while Krol’s runner-up finish of 1:43.55 gave the Netherlands a total of six medals in the competition.