Maybe that’s why Hedrick didn’t seem too upset when it was over. He flashed a big smile as he stepped on the podium, then jogged around the edge of the ice carrying an American flag.

“That’s the deal when you pick five events and try to go for something special,” he said. “You’re going to sacrifice time in some events.”

Not content with his performance, the 28-year-old Hedrick brushed aside his previous talk of making these a one-and-done Olympics. He’ll be back for the 2010 Vancouver Games, looking to do even better.

“I’m very happy with my accomplishments,” he said. “At the same time, I feel like I left a lot of medals out there.”

De Jong made it look easy, maintaining a steady pace through each of the 25 laps. Even though he skated in the fourth of eight pairs, he grabbed a Dutch flag that was tossed on the ice and did a quick victory lap.

“I knew it was a good race, enough to get a medal,” De Jong said. “But I didn’t know it was enough to win.”

The other contenders — 5,000 silver medalist Sven Kramer of the Netherlands, two-time gold medalist Enrico Fabris of Italy and Lasse Saetre of Norway — didn’t come close to De Jong’s mark.

Finally, in the last race, Hedrick and Verheijen stepped to the line knowing what it would take to win gold. These two had swapped the world record back and forth in the final two months of 2005, but they couldn’t duplicate those performances when it counted most.

De Jong watched nervously from the infield, his smile getting bigger with each lap. When Hedrick finished, the Dutchman pumped his fist and fell flat on his back.

“I was scared that they would speed one another up, but it didn’t happen,” De Jong said.

De Jong will no longer be haunted by his failures at the 2002 Olympics, when he finished 30th in the 5,000 and next-to-last in the 10,000. The victory also salvaged a bit of pride for his speedskating-mad country, giving the Dutch men their first gold of these games.

Hedrick started quickly and was two seconds under De Jong’s pace after the fourth lap. Then, the American began to fade, the roar from the orange-clad Dutch fans growing louder with each lap. By the 10th time around, Hedrick’s time had a plus sign in front of it — an indication that De Jong was quicker at that stage of the race.

Hedrick never caught up.

“Holland! Holland! Holland!” the crowd screamed from each end of the oval.

The celebration really began when the overall time went past 13:01, with Hedrick about halfway down the final straightaway. He put his hands on his knees and glided across the line, willing to accept a silver on this day.

Now, it’s on to Vancouver.

“I haven’t accomplished all my goals,” Hedrick said. “I won’t quit until I get there.”

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