Dutch move toward another gold in men's pursuit
SOCHI, Russia (AP) — The Netherlands moved toward two more speedskating gold medals, easing through the quarterfinals of men's and women's Olympic team pursuit Friday.
The men's trio of Sven Kramer, Jan Blokhuijsen and Koen Verweij routed France by a whopping 8.70 seconds, coming around the final turn while the opponent was just going into the turn at the other end of the rink. The Dutch women — Ireen Wust, Lotte van Beek and Jorien ter Mors — set an Olympic record while beating the United States by 3.60.
The men's semifinals were scheduled for later Friday. The Netherlands will face Poland, while Canada takes on South Korea. The women's semifinals, which are Saturday, will have the Netherlands against Japan and Russia vs. Poland.
The Dutch have already won a record 21 speedskating medals.
