updated 7:24 p.m. ET Feb. 22, 2006

TURIN, Italy - Cindy Klassen thought her Olympic chance slipped away when she was cut from the Canadian hockey team headed to the Nagano Games in 1998.

How wrong she was.

Klassen became the most decorated Canadian woman at a single Olympics on Wednesday with a dominating performance in the 1,500-meter speedskating that gave her her fourth medal of the games.

Klassen’s teammate Kristina Groves was 1.47 seconds behind for silver.

“Gold is great,” Klassen said. “Having two Canadians on the podium is awesome.”

Ten years ago, Klassen wondered if she’d ever get there.

“Growing up I had always dreamed of going for the gold in women’s hockey in ’98,” she said. “I was devastated when I got cut.”

Until then, speedskating was little more than a punch line for Klassen.

“I thought it looked kind of ridiculous, with the skinsuits,” she said.

It’s a good thing for her — and her country — that she decided to put one on.

Ireen Wust of the Netherlands, gold medalist in the 3,000 meters, took bronze, knocking defending champion Anni Friesinger of Germany out of the medals.

“Cindy went so fast it was a bit of a shock,” Wust said. “It was a great time.”

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Skating in the same pairing with Friesinger, Klassen took control after the first of 3¾ laps and finished in 1 minute, 55.27 seconds.

“I was excited to race her because she is such a strong skater. It really motivated me to do well,” Klassen said.

Wust, skating in the final pair, never got close to her second gold, finishing with a time of 1:56.90.

When she saw Wust’s time, Klassen hugged her coach and took the Canadian flag on a lap around the oval before joining Groves in a celebration.

Her four medals — bronze in the 3,000 and silver in the 1,000 and team pursuit — are a record for a Canadian woman and she still has the 5,000 left on Saturday. Swimmers Elaine Tanner in 1968 and Anne Ottenbrite in 1984 each won three medals in a single Summer Olympics.

After she lost gold in the 1,000 by a mere .04 seconds, Klassen made sure there would be no doubt this race.

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And she seemed to know right away that she had posted a winning time. She immediately flashed a huge smile after crossing the line, pumped her fist and acknowledged the ecstatic fans waving Canadian flags.

Still, she was anxious when Wust’s time to skate came.

“I didn’t know it would be good enough,” Klassen said.

For Friesinger it was another disappointment. She was an overwhelming favorite in the 1,000 but got only bronze and failed to medal in the 3,000, finishing fourth.

Still, she had a shot at her third medal of the games until Wust beat her by .41 seconds. After, she said she wasn’t sure if she would race in this weekend’s 5,000.

“I had no power,” said Friesinger, who has a gold from the team pursuit. “If you ask me now whether I will start the 5K, I say no.”

Groves won her first individual Olympic medal with an aggressive race that had her throwing her hands up in celebration when she crossed the finish line.

“I knew in my heart it was possible,” she said. “It is even more special because of Cindy and me.”

Marianne Timmer of the Netherlands, the gold medalist in the 1,000, had a disappointing day. Her time of 2:00.45 was only good for 14th place.

“The 1,000 went so well that I got a chance to skate the 1,500. It was a nice bonus but a big disappointment,” she said.

Chris Witty dropped out after dismal showings in the 500 and 1,000, perhaps bringing an end to her storied Olympic career. That left the Americans with only three skaters: Jennifer Rodriguez finished eighth, Catherine Raney 18th and Maria Lamb 24th.

Rodriguez, who failed to reach the podium in Turin after winning two bronze medals at Salt Lake City, was pleased with her performance nonetheless. She wasn’t in top form for these games, but felt she pulled out a gutsy performance in what might be her last Olympic race.

“I’m proud of what I did,” Rodriguez said. “It’s not all about winning medals.”

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