S. Korea wins silver in men`s 5,000-meter speed skating

VANCOUVER, Feb. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea took the silver medal in the men's
5,000-meter speed skating competition at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver on
Saturday.
Lee Seung-hoon clocked in at 6 minutes 16.95 seconds, finishing second to Dutch
world champion Sven Kramer, who came through in 6 minutes 14.60 seconds. Russian
Ivan Skobrev claimed the bronze in 6 minutes 18:05 seconds.
The 22-year old became Asia's first to win a medal at a long-distance speed
skating event at the Olympics.
The former short-track skater has repeatedly set Korean records in the men's
5,000-meter, raising hopes that he could be a surprise medalist in this year's
Olympics. His conversion to speed skating occurred just last year following stiff
competition in the short-track scene.
"The result was better than expected. Honestly I wasn't certain of being able to
win a medal but It came to my mind that I was doing better than I expected while
checking the laptime during the race," Lee told reporters.
South Korea is eyeing its first gold medal later in the day at the men's
1,500-meter short track event. Short-track skaters have traditionally been the
most prolific of South Korea's Olympic gold medal winners and this year is
expected to be no exception.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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