Torino, Feb 13 (Reuters)

By Karolos Grohmann

Turin, Feb 13 (Reuters) - American Joey Cheek on Monday outclassed his opponents with two stellar races, winning the gold medal in the 500 metres speedskating event at the Turin Winter Olympics. Dmitry Dorofeyev of Russia, who was leading for most of the first race until Cheek beat his time, clinched the silver medal while South Korean Lee Kang-seok took the bronze.

World sprint champion Cheek, 0.4 seconds faster after the first race, skated a faultless second race to bring home the second gold in speedskating at these Games for the U.S. After crossing the line for a combined time of 1:09.76, Cheek stretched out his hands, smiled and grabbed a U.S. flag, waving it to friends in the stands.Cheek is also set to compete in the 1,000 and 1,500 metres.

This is Cheek's second Olympic medal after winning bronze in the 1,000 metres at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.A former U.S. junior inline skating (rollerblades) champion, he switched to the ice in 1995, winning the national junior overall championship three years later.Dmitry Dorofeyev of Russia, who was leading for most of the first race until Cheek beat his time, clinched the silver medal, while South Korean Lee Kang-seok took the bronze. Canadian favourite Jeremy Wotherspoon, still seeking his first Olympic gold medal at his third Games, ended in ninth.

TURIN, Feb 13 (Reuters) - World sprint champion Joey Cheek on Monday led the standings in the 500 metres speedskating event after the first race, clocking 34.82 seconds, almost half a second faster than second-best Dmitry Dorofeyev of Russia.

South Korean Lee Kang-seok was in third and Japan's Yuya Oikawa in fourth, while Canadian medal hope Jeremy Wotherspoon, who is seeking his first Olympic gold medal, fifth.

In heat 15, Dutchman Beorn Nijenhuis slipped after 120 metres losing considerable ground. South Korean Sun Chun Kwon kept racing until he also slipped going into the final turn and crashed into the protective padding.

They both eventually finished. Nijenhuis was 14 seconds off the leader while Kwon finished over 23 seconds behind.

Scaters race twice, once starting in the inside lane and then crossing over to the outside and then starting from the outside lane and finishing in the inside lane.

Final results are based on the total time of the two races.

TURIN, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Three time world champion Ahn Hyun-soo won the men's 1,500 metre title in the Winter Olympic short track skating on Sunday after American rival Apolo Anton Ohno slid out of the semi-finals and into a lowly ninth place.

Ahn, 20, has stormed his way up the rankings since the Salt Lake City Games and dominated men's short track so Sunday's gold was a fitting first Olympic medal.

It was also revenge for South Korea, which lost the 1,500 gold in 2002 when Kim Dong-sung finished first but was then disqualified for blocking Ohno.

At that time some South Koreans bombarded Ohno with hate mail, called for a boycott of U.S. goods, and frequently made reference to the controversial call at other sporting events.

Ahn's compatriot and triple world junior champion Lee Ho-suk took the silver and China's Li JiaJun, competing in his fourth Olympics, won bronze.

TURIN, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Teenager Ireen Wust skated the race of her life on Sunday to win an Olympic gold medal at the women's 3,000 metres, delighting more than 2,000 Dutch fans in the stands.

Wust, known for her daredevil racing, took charge from the start, clocking laps of about 31.5 seconds and ending up more than seven seconds faster than the previous best skater.

That feat could not be matched by world record holder Cindy Klassen who had to settle for third after Dutchwoman Renate Groenewold snatched silver in the final 20 metres with an inspired effort.

The 19-year-old Wust, gasping for air after her effort, waved and sent kisses to the crowd, which included the Dutch Crown Prince, an International Olympic Committee member.

Chad Hedrick of the U.S. won the men's 5,000 metres speedskating gold medal at the Winter Olympics on Saturday. Sven Kramer of the Netherlands took the silver and Italy's Enrico Fabris won the bronze.