Japan’s Miho Takagi made it five wins from five events in the 1,500 meters at this season’s speed skating World Cup on Saturday, grabbing her 21st career win in the distance on the circuit.
Takagi, who won silver in the 1,500 at the last two Winter Olympics, clocked 1 minute, 51.60 seconds at the Utah Olympic Oval in Salt Lake City a day after she won the 1,000 gold at the same rink.
Japan’s Miho Takagi competes en route to winning gold in the women’s 1,500 meters at a World Cup speed skating meet in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Jan. 27, 2024. (Kyodo)
Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong was 0.44 behind Takagi in second, followed by her fellow Dutch skater Joy Beune in third.
“I want to strike a balance between gaining confidence and having self-reflection (after positive results),” Takagi said.
“I’m trying not to get overconfident. I’ve been able to generate speed quite smoothly.”
Japan’s Yuma Murakami came third in the men’s 500 after finishing in 34.16. Jordan Stolz won in 33.96, 0.09 ahead of Laurent Debreuil of Canada, as the American made it three gold at the meet after also winning the 1,500 on the day and 1,000 on Friday with a world record.
Japan came second in the women’s team pursuit after Yuna Onodera, Ayano Sato and Momoka Horikawa finished behind winner Canada. The United States came third.
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Speed skating: Miho Takagi wins 3rd 1,000 race of season at World Cup
Speed skating: Miho Takagi wins 1,500 gold at Four Continents
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