After a distinguished 16-year career in speed skating, four-time Olympian Brittany Bowe will compete in the women’s 1500m race at the Winter Olympics in Milan, marking her final Olympic appearance.
NBC Olympics, USA, reports that Bowe, who transitioned from inline skating to ice speed skating, has amassed significant achievements including 91 World Cup medals, 22 national titles, six world championships, and four world records, one of which is in the 1500m event.
In Milan, Bowe has placed fourth in both the 1000m and team pursuit events so far. Although she has not yet reached the 1500m podium at the Olympics, she won a bronze medal in the 1000m in Beijing and contributed to the United States winning bronze in the women’s team pursuit in 2018. During her final World Cup season, she consistently ranked in the top six in both the 1000m and 1500m races, including a bronze in the 1500m and a fifth place finish at her last event before the Olympics in Inzell, Germany.
Bowe’s major competitor for the 1500m title will be Japan’s Miho Takagi, the current world record holder in the distance since 2019. Takagi secured her fifth consecutive season title with three podium finishes in the 1500m this season, including a victory at World Cup No. 4. In Milan, she has already earned bronze medals in the 500m, 1000m, and team pursuit events.
Notably, reigning world champion Joy Beune did not qualify for the 1500m event at the Olympics after falling short in the Dutch trials, despite remaining undefeated in the World Cup circuit this season. This has increased Takagi’s prospects for winning her first Olympic gold in this distance, having previously won silver in the last two Games.
The Netherlands will be represented in the 1500m by Femke Kok, Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong, and Marijke Groenewoud. Kok, specializing in sprint events, holds the 500m world record and set a 1500m track record in Heerenveen last October, although she has yet to compete in that distance at the senior World Cup level. Rijpma-de Jong is the 2023 world champion in the 1500m and has claimed three World Cup bronze medals this season. Norway’s Ragne Wiklund, who has earned medals in longer distances at these Games, is also a contender for a podium finish in the 1500m.
