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Miho Takagi (JPN) has already won three bronze medals at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, but her main event is yet to come. The most successful Japanese speed skater of all time has set her sights on the 1500m after she came second behind Ireen Wüst (NED) four years ago in Beijing.

With Wüst now retired, however, Takagi has to deal with three other strong Dutch women as the main rivals in her favorite event. 

Takagi focuses on main goal

The Team Pursuit bronze was Takagi's 10th career Olympic medal in total (two gold, four silver and four bronze).

Miho Takagi (JPN) has won three bronze medals at these Games, in the 1000m, the 500m and the Team Pursuit © Getty Images

"My 10th medal feels like a milestone, but the 1500m is something completely different than the Team Pursuit," she said.

"My goal has not changed for the past three years. It is not about taking revenge. I want to focus on that one goal and approach the race. After the Team Pursuit, I gained some confidence, and I want to take that positive feeling into the longer distance.”

No Beune's about it

Takagi's main 1500m rival throughout the season will not be racing the distance in Milan. Joy Beune (NED) won all four 1500m competitions she raced in the World Cup series but failed to qualify for the distance at the Dutch Olympic trials last December. 

Takagi regrets the fact that she won’t be able to beat Beune in the 1500m at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium.

"To be honest, I was surprised to see the result [at the Dutch trials],” Takagi said. 

"Yet, it also made me realize that it's not normal to compete at the Olympic Games. It's really special and I have to enjoy it. On the other hand, it's a pity, because I was looking forward to fighting with her.

Takagi (right) competes with Joy Beune (NED) over 1500m at the ISU World Cup in December. Beune won but is absent in Milan © Getty Images

Ragne Wiklund (NOR), another contender for the 1500m title after already having won silver medal in the 3000m and bronze in the 5000m, also pitied Beune.

"I think the Dutch federation should reconsider the way people qualify for the Olympics. We will really miss her in the 1500m,” she said.

Kok the 1500m newcomer

The three women who finished ahead of Beune at the Dutch trials were Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong, Femke Kok and Marijke Groenewoud. Rijpma-De Jong was the 2023 World Champion in the 1500m, and Groenewoud was the 2024 silver medalist at the European Championships.

Kok, meanwhile, has never skated an international 1500m race before. After the Dutch sprinter skated a track record in the distance at the famous Thialf rink in Heerenveen last November, she realized that she could be competitive in this distance too. 

Although Kok didn't compete in the World Cups, she qualified for the Olympic Games by taking silver at the Dutch trials, and Takagi considers her to be one of her main rivals.

Femke Kok (NED) celebrates gold in the 500m after 1000m silver, but considers herself an outside for the 1500m © Getty Images

Kok has already won 500m gold and 1000m silver in Milan, but considers herself an outsider in the 1500m.

"It's my first international 1500m. It's a great honor to skate this,” she said.

“The 500m was my biggest goal, but I really wanted this [the 1500m] and now that I'm here, I'm going to do everything I can to do as well as possible."

The Draw - Women's 1500m

Because she didn’t skate in the 1500m World Cups, Kok was in the top half of the draw and she turned out the unlucky one to have to skate on her own in the first heat. It's up to Kok to set a bar for Groenewoud, who meets Natalia Czerwonka (POL) in the seventh pairing.

Wiklund faces Nadezhda Morozova (KAZ) in the 13th of 15 pairings. Rijpma-De Jong starts outside against Brittany Bowe (USA) in the 14th pair, and Takagi finishes the competition from the outside lane against Nikola Zdráhalova (CZE).

The Numbers - Women's 1500m

• World Record: 1:49.83 Miho Takagi (JPN), Salt Lake City 10 March 2019
• Olympic Record: 1:53.28 Ireen Wüst (NED), Beijing 7 February 2022
• Track record: no track record yet
• Number of athletes competing: 30
• Number of delegations represented: 16
• Competition starts at 16:00 at Milano Speed Skating Stadium on Friday 20 February