WINTER OLYMPICS : Eric Flaim Comes Up Fourth Again, but He’s Already Shooting for Heiden

Nineteen laps down and six laps to go, Eric Flaim’s legs were talking to him.

“They said, ‘Stop, stop,’ ” he said.

Flaim didn’t listen. America’s new 20-year-old speed skating star didn’t win a medal Sunday in the 10,000-meter race, but he finished a strong fourth in the last men’s event at the Olympics.

Tomas Gustafson skated a world-record time of 13:48.20 to win the gold medal. Michael Hadschieff of Austria won the silver and Leo Visser of Holland won the bronze.

Because all three of them had skated before him, Flaim knew what time he had to beat for a medal.

“I thought I had a chance,” he said. “I just couldn’t hang on.”

Flaim, whose time of 14:05.57 was 5.02 seconds behind Visser, consoled himself with his third fourth-place finish. He won a silver medal in the 5,000-meter race Saturday night.

“Three fourths and a silver, I’ve got to be real happy,” Flaim said. “Fourth is a tough position, sure, but I’ve just got to look to the future.”

Flaim said he is already thinking about the 1992 Olympics and wants to skate in all five races to take a shot at Eric Heiden’s unprecedented five gold-medal performance at Lake Placid, N.Y., in 1980.

“I want to go for five,” Flaim said. “He proved it’s not impossible. It’s tremendously difficult, but you have to set goals.”