Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong secured the Olympic title in the women’s 1500 meters speed skating event, narrowly finishing ahead of Norwegian Ragne Wiklund by 0.06 seconds in Milan.
NOS, a Dutch news outlet, reports on this event.
The 30-year-old Rijpma-de Jong posted a winning time of 1:54.09 during the penultimate heat, watching as the favourite, Miho Takagi, was unable to surpass her time in the final heat. This victory marks Rijpma-de Jong’s first Olympic gold medal, adding to her previous achievements which include bronze medals in the 3000 meters in 2018 and the 1500 meters in 2022. Earlier in these Winter Games, she also earned a silver medal as part of the team pursuit.
Femke Kok finished fifth with a time of 1:54.79, having skated in the opening heat. Kok’s early start was due to her lack of prior international competition in the 1500 meters, though she was regarded as a contender after breaking the rink record in Heerenveen last October and finishing closely behind at the Olympic qualifying tournament.
Marijke Groenewoud placed tenth with a time of 1:55.16, following earlier disappointments in the 3000 and 5000 meter events this season. Despite this, she earned a silver medal with the pursuit team and is scheduled to compete in the mass start event on Saturday.
Rijpma-de Jong’s gold represents the seventeenth medal for the Netherlands at these Winter Olympics in Italy. Notably, reigning world champion Joy Beune did not compete as she did not qualify at the Olympic trials. Rijpma-de Jong continues a strong tradition for Dutch women in the 1500 meters, becoming the fifth consecutive Olympic champion from the country in this distance. She succeeds Ireen Wüst, the gold medalist in 2018 and 2022, with previous Dutch champions including Jorien ter Mors in 2014 and Wüst also in 2010.
