Wust skates into history books

Dutch star becomes first athlete to win individual gold medals at five Olympics

Ireen Wust can't really explain it.

Something inside of her just changes when she gets to an Olympic Games.

Her confidence soars. Her legs feel stronger. When she needs that little extra bit of speed, it's always there.

"I don't know what it is," Wust said. "I just see the rings and something magical happens."

It happened again on Monday, at the age of 35, pushing the Dutch speed skating star into a class of her own.

Wust glided into the record books with a victory in the 1,500 meters at the Beijing Games, becoming the first athlete－woman or man, winter or summer－to claim individual gold medals at five different Olympics.

Nope, Michael Phelps didn't do that. Neither did Carl Lewis. British rower Steven Redgrave won gold medals over five Olympics, but each of those victories came as part of two- or four-man teams.

Wust did it all on her own.

The enormity of her accomplishment has yet to sink in.

"Of course it means a lot, but I don't realize it yet," said Wust, who plans to retire after the Olympics. "Ask me this question again in 10 days. I'm an emotional mess in my head."

Wust already was the most decorated speed skater in Winter Olympic history. She pushed her medal haul to an even dozen, a collection she started gathering in her debut at the 2006 Turin Games.

But what made this one really stand out was the color.

Gold.

She's got six of them now－five in individual events that are evenly distributed over each of the Olympics she has competed in during her remarkable career.

On the biggest stage, Wust always seems to shine.

"She had the perfect race at the best moment," said fellow Dutch skater Antoinette de Jong, who settled for the bronze behind the winner and Japan's Miho Takagi.

Wust set an Olympic record while defending her title in the 1,500m, crossing the line with a time of 1 min 53.28 sec at the Ice Ribbon oval.

Wust yanked off her hood, threw up her arms and tilted back her head in delight when she saw her time on the scoreboard.

"An Olympic record on this track is amazing," she said. "The time is really fast. I was really proud already of myself that I did my best 1,500 in the biggest moment."

She couldn't really let loose, not with three more pairs still to go.

"It's nerve-wracking," Wust said with a chuckle.

She wasn't the only one nervously watching the clock as the remaining six skaters made their runs at the gold.