Sander Eitrem of Norway adds a speedskating 5,000 meters Olympic gold to his world record

MILAN (AP) — Norwegian speedskater Sander Eitrem went from, to use his words, “probably one of the underdogs" to “the favorite” in the men's 5,000 meters at the Milan Cortina Olympics by breaking the world record just last month.

That created pressure and nerves and, well, he didn't handle it all that well at the start of his Winter Games debut Sunday, stumbling for his first few strides off the line. Eitrem gathered himself, though, and soon was skating smoothly and powerfully, all the way to a gold medal and an Olympic-record time.

So what happened at the outset?

“Adrenaline just rushed through my body and I felt I was struggling to move. That’s the reason I had a small accident," Eitrem said with a chuckle after clocking 6 minutes, 3.95 seconds, more than 2 1/2 seconds faster than 19-year-old Czech runner-up Metodej Jilek. “For sure, you’re getting stressed.”

Riccardo Lorello, who is from Milan, gave Italy the bronze, a day after speedskater Francesca Lollobrigida won the women's 3,000 meters to give the host nation its first gold of these Olympics in any sport.

Casey Dawson, the American who came in eighth Sunday four years after sitting out the 5,000 in Beijing because he tested positive for COVID-19, could relate to what Eitrem was dealing with.

“It happens,” said Dawson, who had a similar issue in his heat. “On such a big stage, there’s a lot of nerves going into it, and your feet kind of forget what to do the first couple of steps.”

All sorts of bad thoughts begin to creep in.

“Of course, I was afraid. When you do one mistake, it’s easier to do another,” said Eitrem, who turns 24 on Thursday. “For sure, that was in my mind for some laps. But (eventually), you just go into your own bubble and skate.”

He said it took him about 200-300 meters to regroup, and then, he explained, “I was back in it.”

Sure was.

By the 1,400-meter mark, Eitrem had overtaken Jilek — the other skater in his heat — and proceeded to pull away.

“I knew he was the guy to beat today,” Jilek said, “which he proved.”

At a World Cup race in Germany on Jan. 24, Eitrem became the first man in speedskating history to complete the 5,000 in under 6 minutes. He didn’t approach that time on Sunday, but it didn’t matter. He concluded his race by shaking his right fist, then raising it aloft, to celebrate being in first place.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance and family arrived in the stands halfway through the day’s competition. Vance mouthed “Oh, wow,” after Eitrem’s time was shown on the video boards at the arena.

There were two more skaters yet to go, but with a few laps left for both of them, Eitrem knew the gold would be his.

“A lot of emotions going through my head,” he said later. “One second, I was crying. And then the next one, I was just enjoying the moment.”

His time was nearly 6 seconds faster than the old Olympic standard.

“So, yeah, the pressure has been pretty high the last couple of days,” Eitrem said. “To manage to pull it off — it’s a good feeling.”

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Sander Eitrem of Norway bites his gold medal on the podium after the men's 5,000 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Gold medallist Sander Eitrem of Norway celebrates on the podium after the men's 5,000 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Sander Eitrem of Norway cries after winning a gold medal in the men's 5,000 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha watch the men's 5,000 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Casey Dawson of the U.S., right, and Davide Ghiotto of Italy compete in the men's 5,000 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Sander Eitrem of Norway celebrates after the men's 5,000 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Sander Eitrem of Norway celebrates winning the gold medal in the men's 5,000 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

MILAN (AP) — Lukas Dostal was in a rush to get to the Olympics. Earlier this week, the Czech goaltender became the first NHL player to take the ice for practice with his national team.

“What would I do in Anaheim, shoot the puck to the boards and try to stop it myself? It probably wouldn’t really work," Dostal said.

He is no longer alone, as the rest of the players from the best hockey league in the world arrived in Milan on Sunday. Fresh off flying from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, the top contenders from the U.S. and Canada to Sweden, Finland and Czechia all took the ice for their first practices at the Olympics.

"It’s crazy to think about now we’re here," said Auston Matthews, who was named U.S. captain after practice. “It definitely hits you once you touch down and get to the Olympic village and get settled in, just how special and cool it is to be here.”

Dostal and about a dozen others arranged transportation to get to Italy a couple of days earlier, including Canada's Connor McDavid, Germany's Leon Draisaitl, Czechia's David Pastrnak and a quartet of Americans.

Charlie McAvoy, Zach Werenski, Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman marched in the opening ceremony with the rest of the U.S. delegation at San Siro stadium, as did Switzerland's Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Jonas Siegenthaler. Swayman called taking part “an out of body experience.”

Draisaitl and Pastrnak were among the seven men's hockey players who served as their nation's flag bearer.

“As a little boy, your biggest dream is playing in the Olympic Games,” said Switzerland's Nino Niederreiter, who was his country's flag bearer. "Being able to go out there and carry the flag was definitely something you’ll never forget and cherish forever.”

Almost all the players and coaches experiencing the newly built arena gave it rave reviews, though the joy of finally getting to the Olympics almost certainly contributed to that rosy first impression.

“Great, honestly," Sweden forward Mika Zibanejad said. “I don’t have anything negative to say. I’ve been just so stoked to be able to be part of Olympics.”

There's a reason for that. This is the first Olympics with NHL players in a dozen years, dating to Sochi in 2014, after the league opted not to participate in 2018 and pandemic-related scheduling issues caused an eleventh-hour change of plans in 2022.

That gap means an entire generation of stars, including McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel, have never represented their country on this international stage. This is the first so-called best-on-best tournament since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, but even that had a couple of made-up teams — North Americans 23-and-under and then Europeans from various countries not included — to keep McDavid and MacKinnon from playing with two-time gold medalists Sidney Crosby, Drew Doughty and others.

The talk about doing so became reality skating on Sunday.

“Landing today and kind of going through the whole experience, getting checked into the village, it definitely feels real now," Eichel said. "I think we're all really excited to be here."

Following weeks, if not months, of concerns about the quality of the ice, it was clear the surface wasn't perfect. But it'll more than do given the circumstances.

“The ice was a little bit beat up when we were practicing today, but there have been a lot of teams on it,” U.S. coach Mike Sullivan said. "At the end of the day, both teams got to play on the same surface, so we’re thrilled to be here and we love every minute of it.”

Play gets underway Wednesday, and the U.S. and Canada open the tournament Thursday, so teams have a little bit of time to coalesce on and off the ice. But first, all the travel means the need for some rest.

“It feels like it’s been a long day," U.S. forward Jack Hughes said. "Really exciting to finally get over here and just be a part of it.”

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Members of the United States men's ice hockey team including Brady Tkachuk, third from right, Auston Matthews, second from right, and United States' Jack Hughes, right, gather around the net during men's ice hockey practice at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Switzerland's Roman Josi arrives for men's ice hockey practice at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The United States men's ice hockey team gathers on the ice during practice at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)