MILAN, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Dutch skater Femke Kok won her first Olympic gold in the women's 500m speed skating on Sunday, setting a new Olympic record of 36.49 seconds.
Her teammate Jutta Leerdam took silver, while Japanese veteran Miho Takagi claimed bronze.
Leerdam, who raced in the 12th pair, initially took the lead with a time of 37.15 seconds, but Kok overtook her in the 15th pair by 0.66 seconds. Takagi finished in 37.27 seconds to secure her ninth Olympic medal.
"At first, I only saw green [on the scoreboard], and I thought 'nice'. When I saw the time, I thought, 'Wow, that's super fast on sea level'," Kok said after her win.
"It was a relief. It doesn't get any better than this. I was so nervous, I was shaking at the start. During the race, I could only think about skating as fast as possible. It worked out," she added.
Kok and Leerdam swapped their positions compared to Monday's 1,000m race, while Takagi also came in third place in that match.
Speaking of Kok, Leerdam said, "She is super impressive. I have a lot of respect for her. She is a worthy Olympic champion. It is the other way around now (compared to the 1,000m). We have a lot of respect for each other and wish each other the best in our distances."
Takagi was content with the result, saying, "Even though I finished third, I was glad I could do that. At the same time as feeling happy, I also felt strong respect for the two skaters above me. Next is the [women's team] pursuit, so I definitely don't want to lose."
Earlier in the men's team pursuit, Italy posted the fastest time of three minutes 38.40 seconds in the quarterfinals, ahead of the United States, China and the Netherlands. These top four teams advanced to the semifinals, while defending champion Norway finished sixth.
The result represented China's best-ever performance since the event debuted at the Winter Games in 2006. "I feel we performed beyond our usual level and really exceeded ourselves," said Chinese skater Li Wenhao.
The semifinals will be held on Tuesday (February 17), which coincides with the Chinese New Year.
"I'm looking forward to the semifinals," his teammate Liu Hanbin said. "Competing while people across China are celebrating the Spring Festival is very exciting. I hope we can deliver a wonderful 'gala' on ice and put on a spectacular performance for everyone." ■
