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KEARNS, Utah (AP) -- Italy's Enrico Fabris and Finland's Pekka Koskela broke world speedskating records Saturday in a World Cup event at the Utah Olympic Oval.
Moments after Sven Kramer of the Netherlands came within 0.04 seconds of improving his record in the 5,000 meters, Fabris finished in 6 minutes, 7.40 seconds. That beat the previous record of 6:07.48 set by on Kramer on March 3 in Calgary, Alberta.
"I wanted to do it," Fabris said. "I knew the ice was fast."
Earlier, Koskela set the record in the 1,000, finishing in 1:07 to erase the mark of 1:07.03 set by Shani Davis at the Utah Olympic Oval on Nov. 20, 2005.
"I had nothing to lose," Koskela said. "I knew that I was quite fast on the whole thing."
The records gave the Utah Olympic Oval nine of the 11 individual world records.
After a blazing start, Koskela said he almost decided to stop midway through the race, after Canada's Denny Morrison clipped his skate and crashed. Morrison was disqualified and Koskela could have been granted a restart.
"But I figured out ... maybe I'll go ahead," Koskela said.
In the 5,000, Fabris entered the final lap a half-second off world-record pace, but rocketed through the final 400 meters in 28.5 seconds. He raised his arms in triumph during a victory lap around the ice.
Also Saturday, Germany's Jenny Wolf won the second of two women's 500s contested at the event, finishing in 37.22. Canada's Christine Nesbitt won the 1,500 in 1:52.72.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV-11-10-07 1839MST
