Olympics-Speed skating-Dutch glory as Rijpma-de Jong claims 1,500m gold at Milano Cortina

By Pearl Josephine Nazare

MILAN, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Dutchwoman Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong won the women's 1,500 metres at the Milano Cortina Games on Friday, securing the first Olympic gold of her career and her nation's third speed skating title of these Games.

Norway's Ragne Wiklund took silver, while Canada's Valerie Maltais claimed bronze to round out the podium.

Rijpma-de Jong - who finished behind now-retired Dutch great Ireen Wust and Japan's Miho Takagi to take bronze in this distance at Beijing 2022 - stopped the clock at one minute 54.09 seconds, earning her second medal of these Games after winning silver in the team pursuit.

She finished 0.06 seconds ahead of Wiklund.

Competing at her fourth Olympic Games, the 30-year-old Rijpma-de Jong joins Jutta Leerdam and Femke Kok as Dutch speed skating champions at Milano Cortina.

Considered one of the favourites in the distance after finishing second behind Takagi in the 2025-26 ISU Speed Skating World Cup standings, Rijpma-de Jong was drawn in the penultimate pairing. She skated in the outer lane, with American Brittany Bowe alongside her in the inner lane.

Once she crossed the line, all eyes turned to Takagi, who set off in the 15th and final pair with the Czech Republic's Nikola Zdrahalova, but the 31-year-old Japanese great could only manage the sixth-fastest time.

Once the Dutch-dominated, orange-clad crowd realised Takagi would not beat Rijpma-de Jong's time, they burst into cheers.

It is the Netherlands' seventh gold of these Olympics - with only Norway, the United States and Italy having topped more podiums so far.

Takagi remains the world record holder in the 1,500m, having set the benchmark of one minute 49.83 in Salt Lake City in March 2019.

Rijpma-de Jong's triumph ends years of Olympic near misses. She won silver in the team pursuit at Pyeongchang 2018, along with 3,000m bronze that same year. At Beijing 2022, she added a team pursuit bronze and the 1,500m bronze.

Bowe, 37, competing in her final Games, was inspiring as she went toe-to-toe with Rijpma‑de Jong early in their race, before finishing just outside the medals in fourth.

Kok, the Olympic 500m champion, finished fifth.

Home favourite Francesca Lollobrigida, the two-times Olympic gold medallist, received one of the loudest ovations of the day. The 35-year-old Italian, however, had to settle for the 13th fastest time.