The women’s 5,000 meter speed skating race at the Olympics concluded with an exceptionally tight finish, as Merel Conijn of the Netherlands secured the silver medal just 0.10 seconds behind gold medalist Francesca Lollobrigida of Italy.
NOS Schaatsen, a Dutch news outlet, reported on the intense competition and slim margins separating the top four skaters.
The race was marked by an unusually narrow gap between first place and fourth place—only 0.30 seconds separated gold from the skater finishing off the podium. At the finish line, the distance between the winner and the fourth-place competitor was estimated at just over two meters. After the race, Conijn described the experience as extremely close, acknowledging the speed of Lollobrigida, who had previously won the 3,000 meters event at the Games. “She was very fast,” the Italian skater commented with a laugh.
Norwegian Ragne Wiklund, who took bronze, expressed mixed emotions due to the narrow margin between herself and Conijn, finishing 0.07 seconds behind the Dutch skater. Belgian Sandrine Tas, who placed fourth, was visibly emotional and found the outcome particularly painful, missing out on a medal by mere fractions of a second.
The competition intensified during the heat involving Conijn and Tas, where the Dutch athlete overtook the Belgian with a significant acceleration in the final laps, finishing with a time of 6:46.27—just two-tenths of a second ahead. Conijn reflected positively on the dynamic with Tas, noting that racing alongside her was beneficial. However, she was aware that the remaining heats would be very competitive.
Wiklund’s pace initially exceeded Conijn’s during their race, but Conijn’s strong final sprint narrowly secured her a lead. Despite some minor errors, the Norwegian acknowledged the tightness of the competition, as only 0.13 seconds separated her from Tas. Conijn’s coach, Jillert Anema, reassured her of at least a guaranteed medal during the event, which was a comforting moment for the Dutch athlete, though she still hoped for gold.
Ultimately, the gold medal came down to Lollobrigida’s performance. The Italian skater had to achieve a personal record to claim top spot, improving her previous times by about five seconds. During her race, Conijn briefly believed she had secured the gold, based on her coach’s initial indication, but Lollobrigida’s final acceleration in the last inner turn gave her the edge to win by a mere tenth of a second.
Coach Anema noted that Conijn might have been able to gain more time by starting her final sprint earlier. Despite narrowly losing the event, Conijn was proud to wear the silver medal around her neck and expressed that the full significance of her achievement would likely sink in later.
For Sandrine Tas, the close defeat was difficult to accept. She stated that she had felt physically prepared and strong but was left searching for small details or moments where she could have saved time. Tas recognized that there was nothing to change retrospectively but hoped that her disappointment would eventually turn into pride over her performance.
