By PAUL NEWBERRY AP National Writer <\/p>\n
SOCHI, Russia (AP) - Ireen Wust held up three fingers. <\/p>\n
One nail was painted red. The others were white and blue. <\/p>\n
Gold would've worked, too. <\/p>\n
Wust claimed a speedskating gold medal at her third straight Winter Olympics, knocking off defending champion Martina Sablikova in the 3,000 meters Sunday. That made the Netherlands 2-for-2 at Adler Arena, the world's dominant speedskating nation living up to his billing through the first weekend in Sochi. <\/p>\n
\"Seventeen million Dutch wanted me to win,\" said Wust, who painted her nails in the colors of the Dutch flag. \"Now the extreme pressure is off, and I can win more.\" <\/p>\n
Skating in the next-to-last pairing on sea-level ice that wore down some other top contenders, including Germany's Claudia Pechstein, the winner looked strong all the way through. She won with a time of 4 minutes, 0.34 seconds, easily beating the number Sablikova had just put up in the previous pairing. <\/p>\n
\"The relief is immense,\" Wust said, \"and the satisfaction even greater.\" <\/p>\n
Sablikova, of the Czech Republic, settled for the silver in 4:01.95, clapping for her rival after Wust crossed the line. <\/p>\n
The bronze went to Olga Graf, who gave host Russia its first medal of the Winter Games in 4:03.47. That sent the crowd into a frenzy - and even brought kudos from Russian President Vladimir Putin. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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\nWust takes gold at 3rd straight Winter Olympics<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"