Håvard Bøkko wins speedskating silver in Hamar

February 9, 2009

Håvard Bøkko. Photo: www.boekko.com.

Sven Kramer, from Netherland won his third straight men’s gold medal in the Speed Skating World Championship in Hamar, Norway. He survived a tough challenge from Håvard Bøkko (22) from Norway. Håvard beat Kramer in the 1,500 meters on his home ice to set up a thrilling finale in the 10,000.

Bøkko needed to beat Kramer by 4.40 seconds in the last race to win the overall. He held a clear lead for a while, but could not maintain the pace during the last few laps.

Kramer, the world-record holder, won the race in 13 minutes, 5.21 seconds, nearly six seconds ahead of Bøkko. That gave Kramer 147.567 points in the two-day meet at the Viking Ship Olympic oval south of Lillehammer.

Bøkko, who also finished second behind Kramer in the European Championships in the Netherlands last month, had 148.077 points in second place. Third went to Enrico Fabris of Italy (149.469 points).

In the 1,500, Bøkko clocked 1:44.83 to beat Kramer by 0.18.

“It was the first time I beat him when it really counts,” Bøkko said. “I hope it was not the last time I beat him,” said Håvard, who is looking forward to compete in Vancouver next year.

Source: International Herald Tribute.