Medals update: Takagi Miho breaks Olympic record en route to women's speed skating 1000m gold

Japan's Takagi Miho set an astonishing time of 1:13.19 to win the women's Olympic speed skating 1000m title and break the Olympic record.

The 27-year-old had won three silver medals at Beijing 2022 before the 1000m final, with second-place finishes in the 1500m, 500m and team pursuit.

However, in a race that will go down in Olympic history, Takagi stunned the watching world to take the gold medal and the title of Olympic champion.

Second-place and the silver medal went to Netherlands' Jutta Leerdam, who finished 0.64 seconds behind in a time of 1:13.83. The bronze medal was won by world record holder, Brittany Bowe of the USA in 1:14.61.

Takagi won the bronze medal in the 1000m at PyeongChang 2018, however since then, she has gone on to become the world champion. She now becomes only the third reigning world champ to win 1000m gold after Karin Enke in 1984 and Bonnie Blair in 1994.

After finally having the opportunity to climb onto the top step of the podium following three silver medal performances, Takagi reflected on the manner in which those earlier experiences had contributed to her gold medal-winning race.

“I was struggling with my previous races, so I was just like 'Yay!’ That was how I felt.

“I knew the rink I was skating in, so I was just focusing on doing the skating I did in the back straight of the 500m, just very strong glides. The last lap was just about skating really well, that was what I was focusing on.

"I remembered what my older sister (Takagi Nana) said to me this morning. She said, 'It’s amazing if you win four silvers'. But I wasn’t able to accept any kind of pressure from outside. All I was thinking about was to finish the race, and start really well."

Netherlands' silver medallist Leerdam looked back on the race with happiness despite feeling a tinge of regret.

"I am happy with silver," she said. "During the race, after I struggled in the corner, I thought 'oh, I hope this ends well'. Right after seeing my time I thought it was quite fast. But I felt quite disappointed because I knew I was able to do even better if I didn't make the mistake. 

"If I had skated the way I could have done, the others would maybe not even have been able to beat my time. I wanted to go for the gold. During the race I was a bit disappointed but I knew it I could still be up there on the podium if I fought until the end. That's what I did. I just made sure not to fall because I wanted to be on that podium. 

"It's a pity that you make a mistake. It has to do with the speed I had throughout the race. I was super fast and I just couldn't hold it for a second." 

For the USA's Bowe, who at 33-years-old came home third to win her first-ever individual Olympic medal, the race represented a proud moment in her illustrious speed skating career.

"It's an honour to win this medal today," she said. "This is my third Olympics, the first time I've been able to come home with an individual medal. 

"I was going for gold today but if I take a step back and a deep breath for a moment, I'm honoured and blessed to take home a medal. 

"I left it all out there. Unfortunately (I) didn't bring home the gold, but I can rest easy tonight knowing that I left everything out there on the ice."