Dutch skater Kjeld Nuis has broken the 100 kph speed barrier, clocking a world record of 103 kph skating on the frozen Savallen lake in Norway.

The three kilometre track did not have any bends which would have slowed him down and Nuis was also shielded from the wind by a car equipped with a screen.

Nuis, who won gold on the 1,500 metre race during the winter Olympics at Bejing this year, said he was ‘in his best shape ever’.

‘I was literally flying,’ he told broadcaster NOS when he had finished. ‘I even floated above the ice a few times and had to correct myself.’

Skating at these speeds is technically challenging, Nuis said. ‘My strategy was get as much protection from the wind screen so I would have enough energy left for the final push. This really is the limit of what is humanly possible. It was incredibly difficult’.

It took Nuis three attempts to break the 100k barrier on the Norwegian lake. His previous speed skating record was 93k per hour, four years ago.