MILAN, Metropolitan City of Milan — At just 19 years old, Czech speedskater Metodej Jilek clinched the gold medal in the Olympic 10,000-meter race on Friday, adding this victory to his earlier silver in the 5,000-meter event at the Milan Cortina Games.

Jilek completed the grueling 25 laps around the 400-meter track — covering a distance equivalent to 6.2 miles, which might be a breeze for a car but is demanding on skates — in an impressive 12 minutes, 33.43 seconds.

His time eclipsed that of silver medalist Vladimir Semirunniy from Poland, who finished with a time of 12:39.08. The bronze was awarded to the Netherlands’ Jorrit Bergsma, who, at 40, completed the race in 12:40.48.

Bergsma, who previously seized the gold in the 10,000 at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and won silver in Pyeongchang four years later, stands as the oldest competitor in the long track speedskating category in Milan.

In the early stages, Semirunniy took the lead, sporting a mirrored visor that glinted with the reflection of the ice. However, Jilek surged ahead with seven laps to go, maintaining an unwavering rhythm that nearly saw him lap his heat competitor, Canada’s Ted-Jan Bloemen.

When Jilek crossed the line, he threw both arms overhead.

He won the only World Cup 10,000 contested this season, so was considered a medal contender before he stepped to the start for the next-to-last heat on Friday.

After he was done, Jilek needed to see what would happen in the final pairing, which included the man who beat him last weekend in the Olympic 5,000, Sander Eitrem of Norway. And while he briefly was speedier than Jilek in the early going, Eitrem eventually faded to seventh place, more than 13 seconds slower than the winning time.

Davide Ghiotto, the Italian who set the 10,000 world record of 12:25.69 in January 2025 and claimed a bronze in the event at the 2022 Beijing Games, came in sixth Friday.

Jilek’s runner-up finish in the 5K made him the first Czech man to win an Olympic speedskating medal of any color at that distance. And now he’s the first to do it in the 10K.

Hours before the start of the 12-entry race, Casey Dawson withdrew from the 10,000, leaving the event without its only American entrant. U.S. Speedskating said Dawson wanted to focus instead on the team pursuit, which holds quarterfinals on Sunday, and the individual 1,500 meters next Thursday. Dawson finished eighth in the 5,000 meters.

The United States hasn’t won an Olympic gold in the 10,000 since Eric Heiden did so as part of his five victories at the 1980 Lake Placid Games. The country’s last medal at speedskating’s longest distance was Chad Hedrick’s silver at the 2006 Turin Olympics.

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