Bart Swings of Belgium has captured the gold medal in the final men’s speedskating event of the Beijing Olympics, the mass start.
Swings improved on the silver medal he won in the frenetic event at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. South Korea grabbed the other medals, with Chung Jae Won taking the silver and defending Olympic champion Lee Seung Hoon settling for bronze this time.
Three-time world champion Joey Mantia of the United States just missed out on a medal. He posted the same official time as Lee — 7:47.20
The photo finish replay showed the tip of the South Korean’s skate crossed the line just ahead of Mantia’s blade. The difference? 0.001 seconds.
Mantia will leave Beijing with a bronze from the men’s team pursuit.
Irene Schouten of the Netherlands has won her third gold medal of the Beijing Olympics, outsprinting Canada’s Ivanie Blondin to win the women’s mass start.
In the final speedskating event of the Winter Games, Schouten established herself as the biggest star at the Ice Ribbon with a furious push to line to beat Blondin by 0.06 seconds.
Schouten let out a scream as she crossed the line, adding to her gold medals in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters. In a nifty bookend, she won the first and last speedskating events in Beijing.
Blondin settled for the silver, while the bronze went to Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida.
American Mia Manganello Kilburg settled for fourth in the women’s event, more than a second behind Lollobrigida.
The Netherlands again topped the speedskating medal table, finishing with six golds and 12 medals overall. The United States finished with three medals, their best showing since 2010.
Travis Pittman contributed to this report.