Takagi wins second speed skating bronze at Winter Olympics

MILAN — Japanese speed skater Miho Takagi won her second bronze medal of the Milan Cortina Olympics on Sunday when she finished third in the women's 500 meters.

Dutchwoman Femke Kok took gold in an Olympic record 36.49 seconds, with her compatriot and 1,000 gold medalist Jutta Leerdam crossing 0.66 behind for silver.

Takagi, who won bronze in the 1,000, clocked 37.27 at Milano Speed Skating Stadium to reach the podium in the 500 for the second straight Olympics, having taken silver in 2022 in Beijing.

"Although my ranking dropped one place from the last Olympics in Beijing, I didn't think things would go so smoothly this time, so I'm honestly happy that I was able to win a medal," said Takagi, who now has two gold, four silver and three bronze medals in her Olympic career.

Takagi's first 100 meters were the fourth-fastest in the 29-woman field, a fact she was particularly pleased about.

"I went out with the intention of hitting 10.3 seconds at the start. The skater in my pair was also very fast, so for a moment I felt as if I might be behind, but I was able to go through 100 meters -- I think it may have been a personal best -- in 10 seconds, so that was one positive," she said.

"That said, if I reflect on it, I didn't quite maintain my speed in the later phase, so that's something I need to correct going forward."

Of the other Japanese, Rio Yamada finished ninth and Yukino Yoshida 13th.

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