Chad Hedrick of the United States beat arch rival Sven Kramer to win the gold of the men's 5,000- meter speedskating at the Turin Winter Olympics here on Saturday.

The American speedskater clocked six minutes and 14.68 seconds to claim the gold, beating world record holder Kramer of the Netherlands into the second place who finished in 6:16.40.

Enrico Fabris gave hosts Italy their first medal of the Games with a bronze as he clocked 6:18.25 to finish third.

Hedrick is seeking to match compatriot Eric Heiden's feat of five wins at the 1980 Lake Placid Games.

After his victory, Hedrick saluted to US first lady Laura Bush in the stands before soaking in a standing ovation from the generous Dutch crowd.

Hedrick, an inline skating world champion who switched to ice in late 2002, also plans to compete in the 1,000 meters, 1,500 meters, 10,000 meters and new team pursuit events.

The 27-year-old Texan dedicated the win to his late grandmother, Geraldine Hedrick, who died of brain cancer on the same date in 1993. "It's a great feeling. I've got 35 people from Houston Texas to share this experience with me," he said.

"It's a special day. My grandma passed away from cancer 13 years ago, on February 11. I think she was watching me a little. With two laps to go I got a little tired and I began to think of her and she pushed me like she used to."

"I'm not happy going home with just one gold medal. It's going to be more fun now that I have finally won a gold. I'm feeling really strong and in good condition. I'm really confident. You are going to be seeing my face a lot."

Kramer was left despondent when he saw Hedrick surge to triumph. But he had to give credit to the Texan's near-perfect performance. "I understood I had the silver medal. My laps were slower than his at the final of the race," he said.

"But I gave everything I had, I have to be satisfied. From the start I gave more than one hundred percent. It was a very good race so I am very happy with the silver medal. It was one of the best races this year."

"I'd like to have been first, but that's the way it is. Today was my best race I could do. It was all I could give," he added.

Source: Xinhua