Takagi Wins Second Bronze at Milan Cortina

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Milan: Japan’s Miho Takagi claimed her second bronze medal of the 2026 Winter Olympics, finishing third in the women’s 500 meters at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium.

The gold medal went to the Netherlands’ Femke Kok, who set an Olympic record of 36.49 seconds. Her compatriot and reigning 1,000-meter champion Jutta Leerdam secured silver, crossing the line 0.66 seconds behind.

Takagi clocked 37.27 seconds to reach the podium in the 500m for the second consecutive Olympics, having won silver at the 2022 Beijing Games. She had earlier taken bronze in the 1,000 meters at Milan Cortina.

“Although my ranking dropped one place from the last Olympics in Beijing, I didn’t think things would go so smoothly this time, so I’m honestly happy that I was able to win a medal,” Takagi said.

Read More: https://thepenpk.com/2026-winter-olympics-medals-table/

With the latest podium finish, the 30-year-old extended her Olympic medal tally to two gold, four silver and three bronze medals.

Takagi posted the fourth-fastest opening 100 meters among the 29 skaters, a performance she highlighted as a positive takeaway.

“I went out with the intention of hitting 10.3 seconds at the start. The skater in my pair was also very fast, so for a moment I felt as if I might be behind, but I was able to go through 100 meters — I think it may have been a personal best — in 10 seconds, so that was one positive,” she said.

However, she acknowledged room for improvement in the latter stages of the race.

“If I reflect on it, I didn’t quite maintain my speed in the later phase, so that’s something I need to correct going forward,” she added.

Among the other Japanese competitors, Rio Yamada finished ninth, while Yukino Yoshida placed 13th.