Martina Sablikova of Czech Republic adds another gold medal to her Olympic haul

Make it two: Sablikova captures another gold

RICHMOND, British Columbia — Who was more deserving — double gold medalist Martina Sablikova or Clara Hughes for saying goodbye to speedskating at 37 with a last Olympic medal?

Not even IOC president Jacques Rogge could say.

Sablikova won the 5,000-meter race on Wednesday, her second gold medal after winning the 3,000 and earning bronze in the 1,500 earlier in the games.

At a games littered with upsets, Sablikova did not waver over the long distances.

Rogge, who watched the race at the Olympic Oval, called Sablikova “definitely the queen of skating. Whether she will be the queen of the games remains to be seen.”

Hughes, meanwhile, rode the enthusiasm of the Canadian crowds to finish third in the last race of her 14-year Olympic career.

“This crowd gave me wings,” Hughes said. “It was one of the best races of my life. Now, I am officially retired.”

In between, 21-year-old Stephanie Beckert of Germany won her second long-distance silver of the games, her time pushing Sablikova right up to the finish line.

Sablikova crossed in 6 minutes, 50.91 seconds, beating Beckert by just 0.48.

The Czech was so tired at the end that she crumpled to the ice after slowly gliding to a standstill, had coach Petr Novak take off her skates and started her victory lap in her socks with a hesitant, weary tread.

“I was extremely exhausted, and I was in a lot of pain,” Sablikova said through a translator. “If there was another 100 meters I would not have made it.”

Weighing just 119 pounds in a sport dominated by strong, heavy builds, Sablikova always looks frail, but she said after the race that she had been weakened by a cold for three days.

“My legs is kaput,” she said.

As Sablikova took the ice, she settled her light frame into the airy, floating style that no one has been able to match over the long distance. Veering wide on the corner and using every bit of ice at her disposal, she did just enough on her last lap to keep Beckert, who had skated in the previous pair, at bay.

Gasping and flailing arms widely over the last lap, Beckert pushed for the line with power and crossed in 6:51.39. She immediately raised her arms in triumph realizing she had at least a bronze to add to her silver of the 3,000. In the end it made for an identical 1-2 finish over both long distances.

She further helped close Germany’s medal gap with the United States to a 24-26 margin with four days to go.

It was another disappointing day for Canada on the ice, with only a bronze to show for it. For Hughes, though, the medal meant the world.