He was only beaten by the American Jordan Stolz. There was a difference of 94 hundredths of a second between them on the ice in Nagano.
Eitrem clocked in at 1.44.59, while Peder Kongshaug was sixth in 1.45.16. Didrik Eng Strand took 10th place, and Kristian Ulekleiv ended up four notches further down.
In the women’s class, Ragne Wiklund didn’t get it right and was only number 13 over the distance. She got the time 1.57.94.
Miho Takagi took a popular home victory in the 1500 metres. She won in 1.55.02.
In the 500 metres, Bjørn Magnussen (35.18) was the best Norwegian in 12th place, while Siver Brattgjerd (35.56) was four places further down on the results list. The race was won by the aforementioned Stolz.
The World Cup opening continues with competitions on Saturday and Sunday.
Read also: Grand Slam for Eitrem and Wiklund – won three golds each in the skating NM