Jens van't Wout wins 1,000-meter short track Olympic gold for the Netherlands
by Darryl Coote · UPIFeb. 12 (UPI) -- The Netherlands' Jens van't Wout stunned with a photo-finish victory in the men's 1,000-meter short track Thursday in Milan, Italy.
The 24-year-old competing in his second Olympics won his first gold medal with a time of 1 minute, 24.537 seconds following eight laps of the rink at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
He finished a just ahead of Sun Long of China, who had a time of 1 minute, 24.565 seconds, which was good enough for silver.
"I can't believe it. I went to the Olympics hoping, dreaming," van't Wout told reporters following the race.
"I wasn't sure, but everyone on my team believed in me, and they brought me to that gold medal."
South Korea's Rim Jongun claimed the bronze medal with a time of 1 minute, 24.611 seconds.