Sven Kramer slams coach after mistake costs him Olympic gold

From Sportsbeat staff, in Vancouver

 DUTCH speed skater Sven Kramer has slammed his coach for giving him wrong instructions after disqualification denied him 10,000m Olympic gold.

DESPAIR: Sven Kramer is inconsolable after his coach's error ensured he was disqualified and denied his second Olympic gold of Vancouver 2010 (Getty Images)

Kramer, who has already captured 5000m gold in Vancouver, romped home in the 10,000m in 12.54.5 minutes in what would have been his second Olympic record of the Games, only to be disqualified for skating in the wrong lane.

A furious Kramer threw his googles onto the ice after crossing the line after coach Gerard Kemkers had incorrectly directed the 23-year-old Dutchman into the inside lane midway with just over nine laps remaining.

Kramer, the three-time 5000m and 10,000m champion, was correctly heading into the outside lane but followed his coaches orders and promptly saw his hopes of completing an Olympic double go up in smoke.

"I'm furious. Usually, I don't want to blame anyone else, but this time I can't do anything else," he said.

"I wanted to go on the outer lane then just before the cone, Gerard Kemkers shouted 'inner lane,' I thought he's probably right and went to the inner lane.

"It's a concentration problem and not on my part.

"At first I thought my skates passed the cone on the wrong side, I will be disqualified. Then I noticed in the stadium something was wrong.

"You have to decide in a split second. Afterwards I should have gone with my own thoughts, but I was brought into doubt. This really sucks - it's a really expensive mistake."

The Dutchman are traditionally the dominant force in the longer distances of speed skating and Kramer, who surpassed eventual gold medallist Lee Seung-Hoon's time by more than four seconds, is the jewel in their crown. 

Lee's gold comes hot on the heels of Mo Tae-Bum's 500m gold and 1000m silver - adding to the debate that Korea are rivaling the Netherlands, having transferred their short track dominance to long track.

But Kramer insists he is still the man to beat.

"Despite what happened, I skated one of my best 10000 m ever, if not my best," he added. "It went so well, I wasn't getting tired at all."

Russia's Ivan Skobrev was promoted to silver and the Netherlands' defending champion Bob de Jong won the bronze.

 

AS IT HAPPENS: Follow day 12 of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver

IN PICTURES: Sven Kramer is disqualified in the 10,000m speed skating competition