Canada smash Olympic record to book final clash with USA

From Sportsbeat staff, in Vancouver

CANADA broke the Olympic record in both the last eight and last four to set up a men's speed skating team pursuit final clash with USA at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

FOCUSED: The Canadian trio of Mathieu Giroux, Lucas Makowsky and Denny Morrison break the Olympic record twice to reach the speed skating team pursuit final (Getty Images)

The trio of Mathieu Giroux, Lucas Makowsky and Denny Morrison set a time of 3:42.38 minutes to beat defending champions Italy in the quarter finals before going another 0.16 seconds quicker to win their semi final against Norway.

The Norwegian trio of Havard Bokko, Henrik Christiansen and Fredrik van der Horst could do little to contend with the red-hot Canadians in the Richmond Olympic Oval, slipping two seconds down at the half way point before recovering to finish 1.22 behind.

The second semi-final was a closer contest as USA and speed skating powerhouse the Netherlands faced-off.

While Dutch 5,000m champion Sven Kramer was in determined mood, having been disqualified after finishing first in the 10,000m, the American trio of Brian Hansen, Chad Hedrick and Jonathan Kuck eventually held on, finishing in 3:42.71 to win by 0.40.

The Dutch team of Jan Blockhuisen, Kramer and Mark Tuitert closed rapidly in the final laps but will have to settle for a bronze medal match against Norway on Saturday.

Meanwhile, defending champions Germany set the standard in the women's competition, going through to Saturday's semi-finals as fastest qualifiers.

The trio of Daniela Anschutz Thoms, Stephanie Beckert and Anna Friesinger-Postma finished in 3:01.95 to beat the Netherlands in their last eight encounter.

Germany will face the USA in the semi finals while Japan and Poland will meet in the other last four clash.

AS IT HAPPENS: Day 15 of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver