Mistake costs Kramer 10,000m gold Korea's Lee Seung-Hoon won the men's 10,000m after Dutchman Sven Kramer was disqualified for a lane violation. Kramer, who won the 5,000m title, was quickest by more than four seconds, but was thrown out after he skated on the inner lane instead of the outer lane. That gave the title to 5,000m silver medallist Lee, 21, in a new Olympic record of 12 minutes 58.55 seconds. Russia's Ivan Skobrev was promoted to silver and the Netherlands' defending champion Bob de Jong won the bronze. Pre-race favourite Kramer, 23, appeared unaware of his transgression, which came mid-race when his skate crossed the dividing line as he transferred from the outer to inner lanes. And when Dutch coach Gerard Kemkers told him the news after he crossed the finish line in what would have been a new Olympic record time of 12:54.50, Kramer threw his sunglasses away in disgust. "I am furious," the world record holder said after a miscommunication with his coach caused him to change lanes at the wrong time. "I wanted to go on the outer lane then just before the cone Gerard shouted 'inner lane.' I thought he's probably right and went to the inner lane," he said. "This really sucks. This is a real expensive mistake. "It's a matter of concentration. Not a concentration failure on my side. In a split second I had to take a decision and I took it. I cannot explain it. "At the end of the day it is the skater who is on the ice. Maybe we have to say we got it wrong." South Korean Lee, who slashed more than 22 seconds off his own personal best, had been celebrating in the infield long before Kramer, who skated in the final heat, finished. "I'm really happy that I'm one of the first Asian skaters to win this race," said Lee. "I don't think I will be able to sleep now that I have the gold medal."
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