Netherlands
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FILE - In this Jan. 26, 2010, file photo, skaters practice an old form of synchronized skating on natural ice on the frozen IJsselmeer inland sea near Hindeloopen, northern Netherlands. There is nothing more mythical in Dutch sports than an age-old 11-city race skating across lakes and canals in bone-numbing cold from dawn to dusk. No wonder the Netherlands is the greatest speedskating nation in the world. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
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FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2013, file photo, Ireen Wust, center, and Antoinette de Jong , left, of the Netherlands, compete during the women's 1500 meters race at the allround European speedskating championships at Thialf Stadium in Heerenveen, northern Netherlands. Time and again over the last half century, the Dutch are top or near the top of the speedskating standings at any Olympic and for a nation of 16.8 million, it often defies giants like the United States, Russia or Germany. This time too, the Dutch have a realistic chance for a half dozen gold medals on the big oval. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
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FILE - In this Jan. 4, 1997, file photo, skaters pass a windmill as some 16,000 people participate in the historic 200km skating spectacle the 'Elfstedentocht' (eleven-cities-course) in Birdaard, province of Friesland, northern Netherlands. There is nothing more mythical in Dutch sports than an age-old 11-city race skating across lakes and canals in bone-numbing cold from dawn to dusk. No wonder the Netherlands is the greatest speedskating nation in the world. And with Sven Kramer and Ireen Wust leading the way on big oval in Sochi they are bent on proving it again. (AP Photo/Dimitri Georganas, File)
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FILE - In this Jan. 3, 2009, file photo, people skate on frozen canals in Kinderdijk's Mill Area, near Rotterdam, Netherlands. There is nothing more mythical in Dutch sports than an age-old 11-city race skating across lakes and canals in bone-numbing cold from dawn to dusk. No wonder the Netherlands is the greatest speedskating nation in the world. And with Sven Kramer and Ireen Wust leading the way on big oval in Sochi they are bent on proving it again. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
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FILE - In this Feb. 8, 2012, file photo, a boy, right, runs alongside skaters who pass a windmill in Woudsend, northern Netherlands. There is nothing more mythical in Dutch sports than an age-old 11-city race skating across lakes and canals in bone-numbing cold from dawn to dusk. No wonder the Netherlands is the greatest speedskating nation in the world. And with Sven Kramer and Ireen Wust leading the way on big oval in Sochi they are bent on proving it again. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
