Japanese speed skater Takagi sticks to winning formula ahead of title defence at Milano Cortina

MILAN, Feb 2 : Defending Olympic 1,000-metres speed skating champion Miho Takagi said her formula for success remains unchanged as the Japanese gears up for the Milano Cortina Winter Games, prioritising refinement over wholesale changes.

The 31-year-old, who stormed to Olympic gold in Beijing 2022 with a record-breaking 1:13.19 in the 1,000m and added three silver medals to become Japan's most decorated female Olympian, insists her approach remains grounded despite high expectations.

"What I need to do does not really change," Takagi told the Olympic website. "The most important thing is to keep my physical condition as good as possible.

"I work on both the core areas I have been focusing on for a long time and some new elements that come up day by day. Rather than trying to do too many things, I think improving the quality of each part is the most direct path forward.

"In the end, it comes down to balancing my health and my skating. The approach to racing itself stays the same, but I want to keep improving the quality."

Now a seven-times Olympic medallist, Takagi found an unexpected sense of ease at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium, the venue set to host the speed skating events at the Games from February 7.

"The atmosphere felt different from many of the rinks I have skated on in recent years. But for me, it actually felt familiar," she said.

"When I was a child I trained a lot on temporary rinks, and the sound of the ice here reminded me of those days. Rather than feeling uncomfortable, it gave me a sense of familiarity."

Takagi, who made her Olympic debut as a 15-year-old at Vancouver 2010, heads into her fourth Games with momentum after topping the women's 1,500m at the 2025-26 ISU Speed Skating World Cup.

But she remains