RICHMOND, British Columbia — Lee Seung-hoon of South Korea won a stunning Olympic gold medal in men’s 10,000-meter speedskating Tuesday when heavy favorite Sven Kramer made a mistake, failing to switch lanes with a certain victory in his sights, and was disqualified.
Kramer finished more than four seconds ahead of Lee, but it didn’t matter. The South Korean already was hugging his coaches on the infield while the Dutch world-record holder was finishing his race. The silver medal went to Ivan Skobrev of Russia and the Netherlands’ Bob de Jong earned the bronze medal.
As Kramer came across the line, he thought he won. Then, as he was coasting along on the backstretch, Kramer’s coach told him he had skated the last eight laps in the wrong lane.
The coach, Gerard Kemkers, had given his skater the wrong instruction. “It is pretty hard now,” Kramer said. “At the end of the day, it is my responsibility.”
The Associated Press
