Italy, Canada split team pursuit speed skating golds at Milan-Cortina

MILAN, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Italy and Canada won the respective men's and women's team pursuit speed skating gold medals at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics here on Tuesday.

Trailing title favorite and World Cup leader, the United States, in the first five laps, the Italian team of Davide Ghiotto, Andrea Giovannini and Michele Malfatti took the lead from the sixth lap before clocking a winning time of three minutes and 39.20 seconds in the Final A. It marked the host nation's third gold medal in speed skating at these Games, following Francesca Lollobrigida's triumphs in the women's 3,000m and 5,000m.

The United States finished 4.51 seconds behind to claim silver.

Team China, composed of Liu Hanbin, Wu Yu and Li Wenhao, edged the Netherlands by 0.09 seconds to take bronze. Crossing the line in 3:41.38, China recorded its best finish since this event debuted at the Winter Games in 2006.

In the women's team pursuit Final A, Canada defeated the Netherlands to retain the title, while the Netherlands and Japan finished second and third, respectively. ■