Fatal mistake on ice: How a moment of unawareness cost Sven Kramer an olympic gold medal.

in the icy Stadium of Vancouver where the breath of thousands of Spectators was visible in the cold air Sven Kramer prepared for the race of his life the Olympic 10,000 M his eyes were determined his muscles tense as steel cables this race could be the crown jewel of an impeccable career but it went terribly wrong this is the story of a Champion's quest for Olympic glory and the coach's critical error that Chang changed everything it's a sport Sven Kramer is one of the greatest skaters to ever hit the ice he's got that Championship [Music] quality what a legend winning 61 medals at World Championships European championships and the Olympic Games but the medal he never won was the Olympic gold medal in the 10,000 m in 2010 all lights were Green in vanc the conditions were perfect the ice was smooth the air was clear and the atmosphere was electric as a disciplined athlete Sven seemed to have everything under control ready to beat the competition and make history the race began and Sven Flew Over the ice like an arrow from a bow his Strokes were powerful and precise his breathing rhythmic the laps flew by as he steadily increased his lead it seemed like nothing could stop him on his way to Victory his coach Gerard kers stood on the sidelines like Kramer kers was fully concentrated on following the race ice skate coaches have an important relationship with their skaters they provide times encouragement and Direction things were going well Sven was pulling further ahead with each lap but In the Heat of the Moment things went tragically wrong coach kers wrote down the relevant information for Kramer on his tablet doing that he didn't get a clear look on where Kramer is coming from he pointed with his finger to the inside track and Sven took over without thinking and in that one moment that one fatal second he took the wrong turn you can see the strange last minute movement of Sven to the other lane here slowly the atmosphere in the stadium changed the cheers of the crowd were replaced by Whispers and confusion people stared at the scoreboard incredulous about what they saw the commentator desperately tried to explain what had happened but even he was full of confusion in this unique footage you see the king of the Netherlands reacting to the chairman of the Dutch Olympic organization era terpstra the King William Alexander realized quickly that something wrong was happening on the ice at that moment what are you saying somebody's in the wrong lane coach kers quickly realized that things had gone terribly wrong this is a split screen of Kramer's race and Coach Ker's reactions first we start with the crucial moment shortly after he sent Sven into the wrong lane there's a hasty communication with his staff kers is still unaware of the scale of the situation and continues to encourage Kramer as he passes by then realization Dawns on him he covers his eyes with his hands and realizes that the race is over now every time Sven passes by he sinks deeper into the ice this must be the most terrible feeling as a coach what do you tell the skater in such a moment Kramer finishes in a great time and for a few seconds he thinks he's going to take his coveted gold medal home but he hears the crowd cheering moderately he notices that something is wrong he is the best of all but not the champion coach kers has to tell him and Kramer's reaction says it all cursing swearing regretting he Glides over the ice his anger towards his coach is Justified these were the reactions after the race respect that you're here how could this happen I was doing everything perfectly fine I'm not usually one to blame others but I can't ignore it here I go to the outside track and just before the cone Gerard kers tells me to go inside he even points at it then you think well I must be wrong so I go inside I've been writing information to Sven which caused me to miss the turn you do what your coach says you just have to assume you did it right yourself but you do start to doubt yourself it's just really up kers can make mistakes yeah of course he can but it's this uh a very costly mistake eventually they talked it out and continued as a team it takes great sportsmanship to forgive your coach after such a disastrous race four years later they stood at the starting line for their second attempt at the Winter Olympics in SOI this time he stayed in the right lane but Kramer was 4.5 seconds slower than his m rival yit bergsma and one silver just 4.5 seconds on almost 13 minutes a medal with a bitter taste Kramer and kemer split in the summer of 2014 in 2018 in pong Chang it proved to be a disappointment as well he finished sixth in the 10 km Sven Kramer would win many more medals on the ice but the Olympic gold medal in the 10,000 M would forever remain a painfully empty spot in sven's Trophy cap cabinet it reminds him that even the greatest coaches can make human mistakes and that some scars cut deeper than others KKR was kned in the order of orange Nassau after the 2014 Olympic Winter Games for his many successes as coach of among others Kramer and Irene W another legend of the sport he stopped coaching in 2014 Sven stopped skating on March 12th 2022 he had a great farewell from the sport of skating he was appointed officer in the order of orange Nassau his achievements earned him his well-earned nickname Sven the man don't forget to like And subscribe for more amazing Sports stories which sports event should we cover next let us know in the comments it's a [Applause] sport