Winter Olympics 2022 - Fourth time lucky for Miho Takagi: Japanese speed skating great ends silver run with 1000m gold

Japanese speed skating great Miho Takagi finally won her first individual Winter Olympic gold by breaking a Games record to claim the 1000m in Beijing. The 27-year-old, who is one of the sport’s fastest women ever, ended a run of three silver medals in China to top the podium, taking her to seven Olympic medals overall.

Ad/> The Netherlands’ Jutte Leerdam was second after a mistake during her skate, ahead of world champion and world record holder Brittany Bowe. Beijing 2022Schouten sets Olympic record to take gold in women’s 3000m speed skating05/02/2022 AT 10:47 Britain’s Ellia Smeding, in her final event at her first Games, delivered a credible performance to finish 23rd.

/> 1500m bronze winner Antoinette de Jong, a four-time Olympic medallist, set the early pace with 1:14.92 and with five pairs remaining at the ice refresh, she was still ahead by 0.72 seconds. But former world champion Jutta Leerdam was still to go and she set a much higher bar with her effort, racing just short of the Olympic record to go 1.09 second lead, despite a mistake which meant she had to touch the ice to keep her balance.

History maker Ireen Wust, who became the first Olympian ever to win gold at five separate Games by claiming the 1500m title at the start of the programme, was well down on her effort to claim a 14th Olympic medal, moving into third place with her attempt with six skaters still to go Japan’s Takagi, statistically the fastest overall active athlete in women’s speed skating, produced a superb performance to set a new Olympic record of 1:13.19 — punching the air to move into gold medal position with four remaining. Jackson: I hope my win does something for the sport 'What a way to bow out' — Wust breaks Olympic record and wins