‘94 WINTER OLYMPICS / LILLEHAMMER : Norwegians Only Get Louder, Koss Only Gets Faster in 1,500

To Vegard the Viking, add Koss the Boss.

Norwegian speedskater Johann Olav Koss, who set a world record in winning the men’s 5,000-meter event Sunday, did it again Wednesday in the 1,500 at the Viking ship indoor rink.

On Norway’s sports-hero list, that put him up there with cross-country skier Vegard Ulvang.

Koss was only the peoples’ choice, not the experts’. The favorites were Rintje Ritsma and Falko Zandstra of the Netherlands. Ritsma had skated the 1,500 on the same rink Jan. 9 in world-record time, 1 minute 51.60 seconds, and Zandstra is the World Cup leader at the distance.

But before a frenzied crowd of nearly 12,000 fans, some with Norwegian flags painted on their faces, many of them waving real Norwegian flags, most of them screaming, Koss, skating in the second pair, set the standard.

Making up for an average start with a blistering third lap of 28.85 seconds, then a strong last lap of 29.38, Koss finished in 1:51.29 to a deafening ovation.

No one else could match his kick--Ritsma was gasping at the end and was second in 1:51.99. Zandstra was third in 1:52.38 and Norway’s Adne Sondral fourth in 1:53.13. “The last two laps made the difference, but I didn’t think this could happen,” Koss said. “What a great feeling to have the crowd behind me like this.”