Another race, another gold, Olympic record for Irene Schouten

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Dutch speed skater Irene Schouten won gold in the women's 5000m race at the Winter Olympics and set an Olympic record.

Schouten, 29, finished the race in a time of 6:43.51 at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing.

She broke the record of Claudia Pechstein of Germany who set the mark at the Salt Lake City Games in 2002 with a time of 6:46.91.

Canada's Isabelle Weidemann crossed the finish line in 6:48.18 to take a silver medal in Beijing.

Czech athlete Martina Sablikova got the bronze medal after finishing in 6:50.09.

It was Schouten’s second gold in Beijing.

Last week, she won in the 3000m speed skating race, also setting an Olympic record with a time of 3:56.93.

The Netherlands are in the fifth spot in medal table. They have won eight medals, including four gold.

Germany leads all nations with six gold medals with nine in total.