MILAN — Parts of a largely orange-wearing crowd on Sunday afternoon at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium roared as Park City speed skater Casey Dawson rounded the oval, but that was for Italy’s Davide Ghiotto, who finished in fourth place in the Olympic 5000m. Dawson, trailing Ghiotto by a fe w seconds, skated into eighth in the 12.5-lap race. It was a long-awaited Olympic 5000m debut for Dawson, who missed the event in his Games debut in Beijing in 2022 due to COVID-restrictions. Norway’s Sander Eitrem shattered the previous Olympic record time of 6:08.84, set by Dutchman Nils van der Poel at the 2022 Games, with his time of 6:03.95 en route to his gold medal victory. Czechia’s Motodej Jilek won the silver medal with a time of 6:06.48. Italian Riccardo Lorello took home bronze in 6:09.22. “It’s awesome to be here,” Dawson said post-race. “Just stepping on the ice is something that is part of my dreams. If I looked up to this moment 20 years ago, I wouldn’t believe that I would be here.” Dawson was happy to compete in his first Olympic 5000m, with his focus now turned to his other races, including next Sunday’s team pursuit in which he and his U.S. teammates are gold medal favorites. Credit: Photo courtesy of Noel Stave/US Speedskating Dawson said his focus this year and at the Games is on his team pursuit performance next Sunday. The 25 year old said he was grateful to have achieved what he has individually this season. He won the Calgary, Canada, World Cup 5000m in November and broke his own U.S. record in the process. “I’m proud of my performance and resilience,” he said. “Being able to skate these other events is just a bonus to me. We’re just looking forward to Emory (Lehman), Ethan (Cepuran) and I getting to the line and giving everyone a show.” Dawson will rest up over the coming days and prepare for Friday’s 10000m. He is also racing the 1500m on Feb. 19. Dawson noted the temporary ice setup and skating venue, as well as the lengthy breaks between races, as differences between the Games and three-day World Cup events. “I’m from Salt Lake City, some of the fastest ice in the world,” Dawson said. “It’s definitely different. But this past year, I’ve grown so much to be able to adapt a little bit more.” Dawson said the next four years will be about his individual skating, the same way this year is about his team pursuit racing. Norway’s Sander Eitrem takes a victory lap following his gold medal victory. Credit: Jack Singer/Park Record The Parkite expressed his happiness for Eitrem and his win. “I’m proud of Sander,” Dawson said. “He’s always been a good competitor. He deserves the gold medal as much as anyone else.” Eitrem said it was difficult navigating the pressure of being the favorite, a late development after setting the 5000m track record at the Inzell, Germany World Cup in late January. Dawson and Eitrem navigated early race stumbles. Four of the top five skaters competed after the midway break, when two zambonis hit the ice and the heavily Dutch crowd, donning orange gear, belted out to “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” “I do my best in races when I calm down,” Eitrem said about recovering from his trip at the start of his race against Jilek. “I just have to focus on my skating.” USA Network will run a replay of the 5000m at 3:30 p.m. MST. The post Casey Dawson skates to eighth place in Olympic 5000m appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less