Brother of Norwegian Speedskater Can't Contain Excitement After Win

A video posted by NBC Olympics on Twitter shows Hakon Lorentzen watching the race on his phone and cheering loudly

Speedskater Havard Lorentzen on Monday became the first Norwegian to win a gold medal in the 500m since Finn Helgesen 70 years ago. 

He did it in 34.41 seconds, edging out Cha Min-Kyu of South Korea by 0.01 seconds and setting a new Olympic record. 

Perhaps no one was more excited for Lorentzen's dramatic win than his own brother, a soccer player for Sandefjord IF. 

A video posted by NBC Olympics on Twitter shows Hakon Lorentzen watching the race on his phone and cheering loudly. 

He continues to shout after his brother's photo finish. Others in the room with him can also be heard cheering and clapping. 

Havard Lorentzen's gold is the first for his country in an Olympic speedskating event since Adne Sondral won the 1,500m at the Nagano Games in 1998. 

Lorentzen and other Norwegian speedskaters are competing in Pyeongchang wearing blue suits instead of the traditional red ones. The team switched colors after Norwegian scientists claimed that blue is the fastest color. But some experts say the psychology of a suit may have as much influence on the athlete's performance as its physics.

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The last great Norwegian speedskater was Johann Olav Koss, who won three gold medals at the 1994 Lillehammer Games. Speedskating in Norway then went into a steady decline, without a single medal at the 2010 Vancouver Games or in Sochi four years ago. 

Lorentze's win put Norway back on the speedskating map and Koss took note. 

"Fantastic Gold by @hoawi," Koss wrote on Twitter. "Congratulations to an amazing athlete and race. Have never seen a better last 300m before!! #norwegianskatersareback."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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