Wust takes gold at 3rd straight Winter Olympics

By PAUL NEWBERRY AP National Writer

SOCHI, Russia (AP) - Ireen Wust held up three fingers.

One nail was painted red. The others were white and blue.

Gold would've worked, too.

Wust claimed a speedskating gold medal at her third straight Winter Olympics, knocking off defending champion Martina Sablikova in the 3,000 meters Sunday. That made the Netherlands 2-for-2 at Adler Arena, the world's dominant speedskating nation living up to his billing through the first weekend in Sochi.

"Seventeen million Dutch wanted me to win," said Wust, who painted her nails in the colors of the Dutch flag. "Now the extreme pressure is off, and I can win more."

Skating in the next-to-last pairing on sea-level ice that wore down some other top contenders, including Germany's Claudia Pechstein, the winner looked strong all the way through. She won with a time of 4 minutes, 0.34 seconds, easily beating the number Sablikova had just put up in the previous pairing.

"The relief is immense," Wust said, "and the satisfaction even greater."

Sablikova, of the Czech Republic, settled for the silver in 4:01.95, clapping for her rival after Wust crossed the line.

The bronze went to Olga Graf, who gave host Russia its first medal of the Winter Games in 4:03.47. That sent the crowd into a frenzy - and even brought kudos from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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Wust takes gold at 3rd straight Winter Olympics