TURIN, Italy (AP) – One’s a failed hockey player, the other a Summer Games medalist.

As speedskaters, Cindy Klassen and Clara Hughes made Canadian Olympic history.

Using a finishing kick honed from her days as a world-class cyclist, Hughes won the women’s 5,000 meters Saturday and Klassen took third, adding to impressive medals totals for them and their team.

Klassen’s bronze was her fifth medal of the Turin Games, the most by any athlete. With six career medals, she’s now the most decorated Olympian Canada has produced – and Hughes is right behind her with five.

Hughes was part of the silver-winning squad in the team pursuit last week and was third in this race four years ago. Plus, she won two bronze medals in cycling at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

“The last Winter Olympics I felt like I was a cyclist trying to speedskate and this whole time I had to remind myself that I am a speedskater now,” Hughes said. “This is what I do, and I should not be afraid to be the best in the world.”

She proved it in the late stages of the 5,000.

After trailing Germany’s Claudia Pechstein for 10 of the 121/2 laps, Hughes charged ahead and couldn’t be caught. She finished in 6 minutes, 59.07 seconds. Pechstein was 1.01 seconds behind in her bid to become first Winter Olympian to win the same event four times.

“I knew that I could accelerate better than anyone else,” Hughes said. “I am kind of like a diesel. It is the cyclist in me.”

Catherine Raney, the only American in the race, finished seventh with a time of 7:04.91. That sealed a shutout for the U.S. women, who failed to win a speedskating medal for the first time since the 1984 Sarajevo Games.

Canada, meanwhile, won nine medals in speedskating, eight by the women, making it the country’s most successful sport at these games.

Klassen led the way, but she didn’t even pick up speedskating until being cut from the national hockey team before the 1998 Nagano Games. She hopes to add to her total in four years, when the next Winter Olympics will be in her country.

“Hopefully in Vancouver I will be at my strongest,” she said. “I am really excited to go there.”

Pechstein won the eighth individual Olympic medal of her career, tying former East German speedskaters Karin Kania and Gunda Niemann for the most by a woman in Winter Olympics history.

“I had to fight till the end, and because I was not feeling 100 percent, this is a beautiful silver medal,” said Pechstein, who has been troubled by coughing and breathing problems.

After Hughes crossed the finish, her mouth dropped in shock when she saw her time. Soon after, she laid out flat in the infield, panting heavily with her head buried in her hands.

When she got up, Klassen greeted her with a hug. Klassen applauded her teammate and handed over a Canadian flag that Hughes took on a victory lap, a look of disbelief still on her face.

The three medalists wore wide smiles on the podium, Hughes bouncing up and down in excitement, her gap-toothed smile delighting the fans. She donned her gold medal and immediately leaned over to hug Pechstein.

During the Canadian anthem, Hughes pulled Klassen to the top spot and they embraced while singing exuberantly. Pechstein looked at them and laughed.

Klassen happily waived to the crowd after the bronze was placed around her neck.

“I am so happy for Clara that she got a gold medal,” Klassen said. “The 5,000 is not my race and it is definitely her race.”

AP-ES-02-25-06 1734EST