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After a nervy start, pre-race favorite Sander Eitrem (NOR) lived up to expectations in the 5000m at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 on Sunday. 

Following up his phenomenal World Record in Inzell (GER) two weeks ago, the Norwegian powered to gold in an Olympic record of 6 minutes and 3.95s. Metoděj Jílek (CZE) took second place, and Riccardo Lorello (ITA) pulled off a shock by winning the bronze medal in his home town.

Eitrem: ‘Calm down and focus’

After becoming the first man to skate the 5000m in under six minutes (5:58.52) in Inzell, Eitrem knew that the whole world was watching him, and dealing with that pressure had not been easy.

"When I calm down and just focus on skating good, on doing a normal race, that's when I skate my best races," he said.

But the Olympic 5000m began shakily. Coming off the start, Eitrem stumbled before he found his stroke.

"I don't know, the adrenaline just rushed through my body and [before the shot] I was struggling to not move. I think that's reason I had a small accident. For sure, that got me pretty stressed, and it took me 200-300 meters before I was back in the race."

Once he was back in the race, Eitrem was in a league of his own. The 22-year-old Norwegian, who celebrates his 23rd birthday this Thursday, was the only skater who managed to keep all his lap times under 29 seconds until the final lap to finish in an Olympic record time of 6 minutes and 3.95s.

Sander Eitrem (NOR) overcame a nervous start to overhaul pair-mate Metoděj Jílek (CZE) on his way to 5000m gold in an Olympic Record time © ISU

Crossing the line in the ninth pairing, he wasn't assured of the title just yet, because Timothy Loubineaud (FRA) and Ted-Jan Bloemen (CAN) were to come in the final pairing. Yet Eitrem was happy to see his time. 

"I managed to do my best. I was super satisfied with my race, and I was securing the third place, a medal at the Olympics. That's big. 

"Then, when Timothy and Ted had a few laps left, I started to realize that it was going all the way and then there were a lot of emotions going through my head. One second I was crying, and then next one I was just enjoying the moment."

An emotional Eitrem celebrates becoming Olympic 5000m Champion © ISU

The fact that Loubinead and Bloemen, who eventually finished fifth and 13th, were not able to match him, hadn't surprised Eitrem too much. Beforehand, he saw his pair-mate Jílek as the man to beat in Milan.

"When I saw the draw, I was happy," Eitrem explained. 

"We have the same tactic going all out from the start, and he almost never hits the wall, so he's the best to skate against."

Jílek unable to counter his pair-mate

Jílek had thought the exact same thing about his opponent. "I knew he was the guy to beat today and he proved it," he admitted.

Silver medalist Metoděj Jílek (CZE) had also skated alongside Eitrem when the Norwegian shattered the World Record in January © ISU

The Czech had tried to keep up with Eitrem, but already felt that he couldn't follow him early on in the race. 

"I knew he was going to the same as he did in Inzell [Eitrem and Jílek were also in the same pair when the Norwegian broke the World Record], to gain some distance on me from the beginning so he could get the draft every second lap.

"I knew it was going to happen, and I tried to counter it a bit, but he was just stronger today, and I couldn't react the last couple of laps."

Jílek eventually finished 2.53s behind Eitrem to take silver.

Jílek is a former inline skater who was part of the ISU Development Program and got an ISU scholarship as a Junior Ice Skater.

Local boy Lorello’s gift for grandparents

Not having stood on a World Cup podium before this season, Lorello was drawn early and had to race in the third pairing, before the half-time ice-cleaning break. But inspired by skating in his home city, the Milan-native stopped the clock at 6 minutes 9.22s.

Riccardo Lorello (ITA) had a long wait for his podium place to be confirmed after skating in the third pairing of the day © ISU

He was surprised to see that only Eitrem and Jílek were able to skate faster. Waiting for seven more pairs to skate after he finished himself, he said, had been nerve-wrecking.

"Fortunately, the anti-doping test distracted me a little, but I suffered," the 23-year-old Italian joked.

"When I saw [teammate] Davide Ghiotto's time, who is our benchmark for long distances, that's when I realized mine could be a competitive time." 

Ghiotto himself finished 0.35s outside Lorello's time in the eighth pairing, immediately before Eitrem and Jílek took the ice. The 10,000m World Record Holder was gutted, but at the same time was pleased for his team-mate.

"It's quite good. It's good because I raced well. I know I lost the podium, but this is sport. This is life," said the 10,000m World Record holder.

"It's not easy to skate after your teammate, when he does a very good race. But we have worked for many years together. I'm very happy for Riccardo, because he's a very young boy."

Lorello, right, shows off his home-town bronze alongside his fellow medalists © ISU

Winning bronze in Milan was a dream come true for Lorello, like Jílek also a former inline skater. 

"When we did the test event in December, it was already a dream for me to be able to leave the house and say, ‘I'm going to train on the ice’, to drive 10 minutes and get here,” he explained.

"I'm glad my first Olympics were here, because at least my grandparents were able to come and watch, and also because of the medal. I gave them a really nice gift."