Martina Sablikova defends Olympic speed skating title

Czech Republic skater Martina Sablikova has successfully defended her 5,000m Olympic speed skating title at the Sochi Games.

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The 26-year-old, who claimed gold in Vancouver in 2010, recorded a time of 6:51.54 to take first place.

Netherlands athlete Irene Wust, who denied Sablikova gold in the 3,000m event on Sunday, won her seventh Olympic medal by finishing 2.74 seconds behind.

Wust's counterpart Carien Kleibeuker finished 4.23 seconds behind to win the bronze medal.

Russian Federation skater Olga Graf took fourth place with 6:55.77, while Germany's Claudia Pechstein was a further 6.85 seconds behind in fifth.