Dutchman Kramer storms to Olympic 5,000m hat-trick

PYEONGCHANG: Dutch speed skater Sven Kramer roared to a third straight Olympic title in the men's 5,000 metres Sunday as the hot favourite comfortably held off Canada's Ted-Jan Bloemen.

Victory in Pyeongchang made Kramer the first man to win three Olympic gold medals in a specific skating event.

The 31-year-old clocked a winning time of six minutes, 9.76 seconds with Bloeman and Norway's Sverre Lunde Pedersen having to be separated by a photo finish behind him.

Kramer's pet event had been his to lose in South Korea as the Dutchman has utterly dominated the distance, winning the 5,000m at the last four world championships.

Bloemen finished in 6:11.616 to take silver, two hundredths quicker than bronze medallist Pedersen.