Leerdam win Olympic silver after 1,000m miss, Takagi’s first gold

Takagi has already surprised with the silver medal in the 500 meters. She also won silver in the 1,500 meters in Beijing and in the Japanese team pursuit she also went silver after her sister Nana fell on the last bend. She is now the first Japanese speed skater to win an Olympic title in the 1,000 meters.

“It had to happen once for her to stack it all up,” said Johan de Wit, national coach of the Japanese skating team, after the fact. “Miho is now winning by more than six tenths over Jutta and she’s not a sick skater. It didn’t happen often in the 1,000 meters and I was expecting it. I always believed in it.”

Big miss for Leerdam

Debutant Leerdam, one of the favorites for gold, came into action in the second leg after the break against American speed skater Kimi Goetz. The 23-year-old sprinter missed a bit more on the first full lap and had to get her hands on the ice, but she eventually kept up enough speed and finished in 1m13.83s.

In 2020, Leerdam won the world title over this distance and last January they extended their European title. Last year, she had to settle for silver behind Bowe at the World Cup. On Sunday, she narrowly missed medals in the 500 meters and finished fifth.

Check out Jutta Leerdam’s ride over the 1,000 meters below.