Russia’s first Olympic medal came on the second day of the Vancouver Games thanks to a third place finish from in Ivan Skobrev in the men's 5,000-meter speed skating.
Sven Kramer of the Netherlands took the precious gold, in a time of 6 minutes 14.60 seconds, which is a new Olympic record.
South Korean youngster Seung-Hoon Lee amazed the crowd and specialists with his silver medal and an impressive result of 6 minutes 16.95 seconds.
Skobrev completed his 5000 meters a little more than a second behind his Korean rival, saying he is very pleased with his achievement.
"On the whole, I am satisfied with my performance. I have been striving to reach this all my life, since my parents helped me to put on my skates when I was three years old," he told RIA Novosti news agency.
The Vancouver bronze is the second Olympic medal in the collection of the athlete from the Central Russian city of Vologda. He has another bronze, taken in the team pursuit in Turin 2006.