DUTCH SKATER DENIES BEING RUDE

Dutch speed skater Sjinkie Knegt denies giving the middle finger again after losing the 1,500metre final at the Winter Olympics. Eagle- eyed observers were left wondering if Knegt, 28, had subtly flipped the bird on the podium after finishing second to Lim Hyo- jun in PyeongChang. Knegt was clutching Olympic mascot, Soohorang, with his finger pointed towards the South Korean race winner — who beat him by just 0.07 seconds to win his country’s first gold of the Games. But the event world- record holder denies a repeat offence of that which saw him stripped of medals at the 2014 European Championships. Knegt was quoted as saying: “It looked like I put up the middle finger. It’s not intended. I just looked very bad in the photo, but it was not on purpose. I was just holding the medal.”