Anything but gold would be a disappointment, Femke Kok (NED), pictured above, admitted two days ahead of the women's 500m. The Dutch sprinter hasn’t lost a 500m race since February 2, 2024 and shattered Sang-Hwa Lee’s (KOR) legendary 12-year World Record in the women's shortest distance by 0.27s last November. The second-fastest time this season, set by Olympic Champion Erin Jackson (USA), is 0.48s slower. 

Kok confident and realistic

Kok has already won Olympic silver after an incredibly fast 1000m, in which only countrywoman Jutta Leerdam (NED) was able to beat her fresh Olympic record of 1 minute and 12.59s. 

Whereas Leerdam is the 1000m specialist, the 500m is Femke Kok territory.

"This one comes first for me," she said about the shortest distance. Kok seemed pretty relaxed two days ahead of what should be her finest moment in Milan.

"I just really look forward to skating, I just can't wait. I'm not really nervous, it's more of a feeling like: just let it come."

Femke Kok (NED) took silver and countrywoman Jutta Leerdam claimed gold in the 1000m © Getty Images

Despite being confident, Kok is aware she can't take anything for granted.

"In the 500m, everything has to be perfect, and everybody can make mistakes, so I try to be realistic. It's not as if the world falls apart if I don't win."

Other contenders

If Kok does what she is capable of, it's highly unlikely that anyone else will be able to beat her, but the other contenders will do everything they can to give the Dutchwoman a run for her money.

Erin Jackson (USA) has struggled with a chronic back injury for most of the season, but she seems to have left the physical troubles behind since the last World Cup in Inzell in January. Despite her back problems, the American rocket managed to take third place in the 500m World Cup ranking this season.

Kaja Ziomek-Nogal (POL) finished second in that ranking because of the unbeatable Kok. The Polish skater drew a lot of confidence from the European Championships on home soil in January, when she won the 500m title in the absence of Kok.

Kaja Ziomek-Nogal won the 500m at the European Championships in January © ISU

Ziomek-Nogal could become the second mother in Long-Track Speed Skating at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. Like two-fold champion Francesca Lollobrigida (ITA), she took maternity leave from Speed Skating after the 2022 Olympic Games. 

Ziomek-Nogal gave birth to daughter Antonina in May 2023 before returning to the ice in the 2024-2025 season.

Of course, 1000m winner Leerdam is one of the contenders in the 500m too, just like Sophie Warmuth (GER) and Yukino Yoshida (JPN), who finished fifth and sixth in the World Cup ranking.

The Women's 500m Draw

Kok and Jackson will meet in the final of 15 pairings. Yoshida will face Dutch Anna Boersma (NED) in the 14^th pair, while Ziomek-Nogal skates versus Lee Na-Hyun (KOR) in the 13^th heat, and Leerdam in the 12^th against Warmuth. 

The Numbers: Women's 500m

• World Record: 36.09 Femke Kok (NED), Salt Lake City, November 16, 2025
• Olympic Record: 36.94 Nao Kodaira (JPN), Gangneung, February 18, 2018
• Track record: 38.16 Serena Pergher (ITA), Milan November 30, 2025
• Number of skaters competing: 30
• Number of delegations represented: 15
• Competition starts at 17:03hrs at Milano Speed Skating Stadium

Men's Team Pursuit: USA chase the one title they don’t have

Before the women start their title quest in the 500m, the men will begin the Team Pursuit with the quarter-finals on Sunday. The semi-finals and medal races are scheduled for Tuesday, February 17.

The four fastest teams from the quarter-final races will advance to the semi-finals, and from there onwards it's a knock-out format. The winners of the semi-finals will race in the gold-medal final A race and the losers of the semi-finals in the bronze-medal final B race.

Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman, and Ethan Cepuran (USA) will be targeting gold in the Team Pursuit © ISU

USA are the outright favorites for the title, having seized the World Cup Trophy over the last five consecutive seasons. Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman, and Ethan Cepuran have won everything they could in Team Pursuit, except for the one most coveted prize in speed skating: the Olympic title. Their semi-final loss at the 2022 Beijing Games still hurts. 

“We think about that every day," Cepuran said last November. 

Lehman agreed: “We've had some pretty scarring losses in the past, so I think the Olympics, World Championships, World Cups, have been times we've come up short. So we know that we don't take every win for granted.”

The Men's Team Pursuit Draw

Japan will face Germany in the first pair. USA takes on home skaters Italy in the second. Norway faces China in the third pair, while the Netherlands meet France in the fourth pairing.

The Numbers: Men’s Team Pursuit

• World Record: 3:32.49 USA (Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman, Ethan Cepuran), Salt Lake City November 16, 2025
• Olympic Record: 3:36.62, ROC (Sergey Trofimov, Daniil Aldoshkin, Ruslan Zakharov), Beijing February 8, 2022
• Track record: no track record yet
• Number of teams competing: 8
• Number of delegations represented: 8
• Competition starts at 16:00hrs at Milano Speed Skating Stadium