Speed skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics – Women's 5000 metres en route to finishing second, only started competing in long track skating a year before the Games, although she and her sisters had proven almost unbeatable in marathon skating, which is performed in groups. Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows. The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition. Speed skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics – Women's 5000 metres The Women's 5000 m speed skating competition for the 2002 Winter Olympics was held in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Claudia Pechstein secures her third gold medal in the
Winter Olympic Games war, the 1944 Games, originally scheduled for Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy, were cancelled. St. Moritz was selected to host the first post-war Games in 1948. Switzerland's neutrality had protected the town during World War II, and most of the venues were in place from the 1928 Games, which made St. Moritz a logical choice. It became the first city to host a Winter Olympics twice. Twenty-eight countries competed in Switzerland, but athletes from Germany and Japan were not invited. Controversy erupted when two hockey teams from the United States arrived, both claiming to be the legitimate U.S. Olympic hockey representative. The