Winter Olympics 2022: Irene Schouten wins 3rd gold on final day of speedskating

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Irene Schouten of the Netherlands captured her third gold medal of the Beijing Olympics, chasing down Canada’s Ivanie Blondin to win the women’s mass start on Saturday.

In the final speedskating event of the Winter Games, Schouten established herself as the biggest star at the Ice Ribbon with a furious push to overtake Blondin.

Blondin grabbed the lead on the backstraight, but Schouten roared back with an all-out sprint to the finish to win by 0.06 seconds.

"It's amazing," the winner said. "I'm always good on the last straight, and I felt out of the corner I had a lot of speed. I had confidence that I could beat her."

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Irene Schouten of the Netherlands reacts after winning the gold medal ahead of silver medalist Ivanie Blondin of Canada, right, and Francesca Lollobrigida of Italy, behind, in the women's speedskating mass start finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Schouten let out a scream as she crossed the stripe, celebrating another gold after her victories in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters. In a nifty bookend, she won the first and last speedskating events in Beijing, two weeks apart.

"I'm so happy," Schouten said. "I worked really, really hard. When I was young, I had a dream to have an Olympic gold. Now, to do it three times, it's amazing."

Bart Swings won the men's mass start to make history for Belgium. He became the first individual Winter Olympic gold medalist for his country, which had won its only previous gold in pairs figure skating in 1948.

"I always want to raise the bar to the next level," Swings said.

It was a frustrating final day at the