Brodka Takes Gold in Men’s 1,500 Speedskating
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DAMIEN MEYER/AFP/Getty Images(SOCHI, Russia) — Poland’s Zbigniew Brodka edged the Netherlands’ Koen Verweij by three-thousandths of a second to win the gold medal in men’s 1,500 meters speedskating.
Verweij made a valiant effort to beat Brodka’s time. When he finished the race it actually showed that he tied Brodka. But in speedskating time can be measured in thousandths of a second, and when it was it showed Brodka was the champion.
“I said to myself, `These are the Olympics and I have to push right up to the line,” Brodka said. “Every thousands of a second will be counted.”
The race is the closest 1,500 since 1960 and earns Poland its first gold in Olympic speedskating.
Canada’s Denny Morrison won his second medal in Sochi, taking home the bronze.
American Shani Davis, who finished with the silver medal in the 1,500 at the last two Olympics, came in 11th.
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