Short track-Dutch underline dominance with men's 5,000m relay gold

MILAN, Feb 20 - The Netherlands won the men's 5,000 metres short track relay at the Olympics on Friday, with Jens van 't Wout adding a team gold to his two individual titles on the last night of speed skating action.

The win took the Dutch gold haul to five from nine events at the Milano Cortina Games after Xandra Velzeboer also claimed two individual titles in the women's events.

They top the medals table in the short track discipline, building on their historic strength in the traditional form of speed skating.

The winning relay team also featured Melle van 't Wout, silver medallist in the 500m and the elder brother of Jens.

South Korea took silver, while Italy claimed bronze in the relay. Canada, the defending champions, finished in fourth place.

For the Italian men, the bronze was a consolation after a disappointing Games in the individual races.

Jens van 't Wout has been one of the standout skaters of the Games, winning the 1,500m and 1,000m titles and finishing third in the 500m.

LIVING THE DREAM IN ITALY

"I think the whole competition has been a dream for me," Jens van 't Wout told reporters.

"But this was really beautiful because without the boys by my side right now, I would have never been near this level," he added.

"So for me, it's really beautiful that we can all go home with the same gold medal."

His brother Melle said the team hoped their success would persuade more youngsters to take up short track.

"Long track is very popular in the Netherlands, and short track has been growing. But we want it obviously to grow more. Because we all love the sport, we know how beautiful the sport is." REUTERS