HEERENVEEN, Netherlands (AP) — Nils van der Poel of Sweden set a world record in the 10,000 meters on Sunday to win his second title at the world single distances speedskating championships at the Thialf Oval.
Van der Poel’s winning time of 12:32.95 shaved nearly a second off the record set a year ago by Graeme Fish of Canada at the Utah Olympic Oval.
“Eat fish for dinner!” a beaming Van der Poel yelled into a camera after his victory.
Jorrit Bergsma of the Netherlands, the 2014 Olympic 10,000-meter champion, was second nearly 13 seconds behind the dominant Van der Poel.
Russian skater Alexander Rumyantsev was third.
Van der Poel’s victory came after he won the 5,000 on Thursday, beating pre-race favorite Patrick Roest into second place.
“It was the challenge of my life,” the Swede with a Dutch grandfather said of Sunday’s race in an interview with broadcaster NOS. “And also it’s a new club record in my club in Trollhättan, so don’t forget that,” he added with a smile.
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