Kramer not done yet

ByEurosport

Published 17/02/2006 at 11:35 GMT

Disappointed with his spill in the semi-finals of the team pursuit, Dutchman Sven Kramer vows he'll be back for gold in the 10,000m. The Netherlands had to settle for bronze in the first-ever team pursuit, finishing behind Italy.

SPEED SKATING 2006 Torino 2006 Men's Team Pursuit Kramer

Image credit: Reuters

"It was on the moment difficult for me," Kramer told Eurosport after the fall. "We skated so strong to beat the Italians and I think we would have beaten them but I fell. It's stupid.
"I've had bronze, silver [in the 5,000m] and gold now: I'm going to try it on the 10 km."

SPEED SKATING 2006 Torino 2006 Men's Team Pursuit Netherlands Verheijen Kramer

Image credit: Reuters

Team-mate Erben Wennmans shared Kramer's disappointment:

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"The guy who was leading stepped on the block and he slipped away and he took Carl [Verheijen] also. And I was there by myself. I didn't know what to do. It happened very quickly. And we couldn't do anything about it anymore."

CANADA SMILE

Eurosport: Two silver medals is a good balance sheet for Canada?

Canada coach Marcel Lacroix: Yes, it is a good balance sheet. We came here to the Olympics hoping we would be in the finals rounds of the competitions. So, doing finals was our goals and winning two medals is excellent.

Q:Unfortunately in the men's final, it was complicated. You looked good, you were catching up on Italy but there was a mistake which costs you the win?

Yes. It was the second round today and the legs were a bit heavier. And at the moment where Arne Dankers made a mistake, they had to slow down and it's then very hard to find your pace again, especially for the legs. They actually did find their pace back but it was not without expense.

Q:Two medals! What impact will that have back home?

A big one. We have a lot of skaters in Canada and these skaters are viewed like... (he hesitates) like any other skaters in Canada. Everything is possible. In Canada; speed skating is not like football in France. It's quite simply an amateur sport where you need to give a lot of yourself; spend time on it and one day, you might go to the Olympics and get medals.