HAMAR, Norway – Japan’s Miho Takagi won her first individual World Cup event of the season on Friday in the women’s 1,500 meters to all but secure her spot at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
The 31-year-old had an underwhelming start to the season but finally made a breakthrough after clocking a 1 minute, 54.95 second time at the fourth event of the season in Hamar, Norway, stretching her record for most World Cup wins by a Japanese to 37.
Nadezhda Morozova of Kazakhstan finished a close second after skating a time 0.03 slower than the Japanese, while Norway’s Ragne Wiklund was a further 0.20 back in third.
“There’s a sense of relief, but the next thing that comes to my mind is how the race went, more than the joy of winning the event,” Takagi said after taking her first win in the event in nine international meets.
“My final lap time would see someone strong in the second half overtake me. There are areas I have to improve and make progress.”
Takagi won her first individual Olympic gold in the 1,000 at the 2022 Beijing Games and secured her second straight silver in the 1,500, the distance over which she most aspires to win gold at the upcoming Olympics in Italy.
The Japan Skating Federation stipulates that skaters judged to have performed strongly in the opening four World Cup events of the season will be awarded an Olympic berth, irrespective of the results at the national championships to be held in late December.
Yukino Yoshida came third in the women’s 500 for the second time this season after logging 37.75. Femke Kok of the Netherlands won in 37.05 to continue her perfect start with six straight wins, followed by Kaja Ziomek-Nogal of Poland, who crossed in 37.65.