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Miho Takagi (JPN) is searching the fire inside in defense of her 2022 Olympic 1000m title in long track speed skating at Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 on Monday. She'll have to keep Dutch pair Jutta Leerdam and Femke Kok at bay, while World Record holder Brittany Bowe (USA) hopes to come away with a medal at her final Olympic Games.

Leerdam confident after World Cup wins

Having won three out of the four World Cup races she participated in this season, Jutta Leerdam seems to be the woman to beat in the 1000m. Four years ago in Beijing she had to settle for silver behind Takagi after a mis-stroke in the corner.

Jutta Leerdam (NED) won three of her four World Cup 1000m races this season, giving her confidence for Milan © ISU

Winning the last World Cup race in Inzell (GER) just two weeks prior to the Milan Olympic Games was a confidence boost for the 2020 and 2023 World Champion. That race gave her great confidence for the Olympics, she said.

"I always seek that super extreme feeling, and it's been OK-ish many times before this season and then this is such a giant step forwards,” she said.

"That gives me confidence, especially because the speed came relatively easy."

In Inzell, Leerdam beat Kok in a head-to-head race. Kok herself is the outright favorite to win the 500m but she has also won a 1000m World Cup race this season. She finished third behind Leerdam and Takagi in Inzell.

"After a big training block, I miss a bit of snappiness. To come in third is nice, and it's a good impulse towards the Games," she commented after the World Cup event in Germany.

Takagi: ‘Something inside is starting to burn’

Even though Bowe is six years her senior, Miho Takagi is the most experienced Olympian of all the 1000m competitors in the women's field having begun her Olympic career at the 2010 Vancouver Games aged just 15.

Takagi has collected a ton of silverware in World Cups and World Championships since. Four years ago in Beijing, she finally took her first individual Olympic gold medal in the 1000m. 

Miho Takagi (JPN) celebrates her 1000m gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Games © Getty Images

For Takagi, speed skating is a continued quest for perfection, something she hasn't yet found this season. Four days before competition in Milan, she shared her philosophy. 

“When you want to skate fast, it is easy to think you need to move quickly, and then the movements become small and rushed,” she explained.

“What is most important is to capture and control the movement properly, and then, within that, try to move as fast as possible. 

"To win, I have to bring out my top speed to the absolute maximum. If I cannot do that, it will be very difficult.

“It is more about attacking and seeing how far you can go. From here, I feel my mindset needs to shift a bit more – not so much calm and controlled, but more like something inside is starting to burn.”

Bowe out to enjoy final Olympic ride

A six-time World Champion, Brittany Bowe has never managed to win Olympic Gold, but she did take 1000m bronze four years ago in Beijing. 

Brittany Bowe (USA) hopes to sign off her Olympic career by adding a medal to her 2022 1000m bronze © ISU

The 37-year-old American wants to give it one more go in Milan, and she's as ready as you can be.

"It has been awesome throughout the whole year. I've been really consistent, have been in the top five almost every single time I raced, so I'm right there in the mix,” she said.

“I can't ask for much more than that at this point in my career. 

"We're all out here trying to win a medal, but I can't let myself get caught up in the outcome, because we have no control over that. I'm really just trying to enjoy this one final ride."

The draw

With Takagi and Leerdam in the last pairing, the schedule builds up to a climax on Monday. Takagi starts from the inner lane, so Leerdam may aim at a good draft at the first back-stretch, but her Japanese rival will get a chance to chase Leerdam down at the second change-up.

Kok and Bowe will face each other in the 13th of 15 pairings, with Bowe starting inner lane. In the 14th pairing, Japanese Rio Yamada (inner) starts against Béatrice Lamarche (CAN).

The numbers

• World Record: 1:11.61 Brittany Bowe (USA), Salt Lake City, 9 March 2019
• Olympic Record: 1:13.19 Miho Takagi (JPN), Beijing, 17 February 2022
• Track record: 1:16.37 Brittany Bowe (USA), Milan, 2 February 2026
• Number of skaters competing: 30
• Number of delegations represented: 15
• Competition starts at 17:30 at Milano Speed Skating Stadium on Monday, 9 February