The Netherlands' Jutta Leerdam blasted her way through the women's 1000m at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, lowering the Olympic record en route to gold. Her final mark of 1 minute, 12.31 seconds was the fourth Olympic record set in three races so far in Milan.

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A two-time world champion and three-time European champion in the distance, Leerdam skated to silver at the 2022 Beijing Games. 

"I couldn't believe it, but I was also so tired. It was hard to feel something," Leerdam said of her reaction after the race.  "I couldn't really stand, I couldn't really see, I couldn't do anything." 

In the pair before her, teammate Femke Kok punched the clock at 1:12.59, also breaking the mark set by Japan's Miho Takagi in 2022 (1:13.19). 

"I gave it my all. It's a little bummer that it wasn't quite enough for gold but Jutta was amazing," Kok said. "Racing here felt so good, the crowd was amazing. They were cheering so loud and that gave me a lot of energy throughout the race."

Kok made the podium in all five 1000m races on the World Cup this season, winning one and finishing the 2025-26 campaign with the World Cup title in the distance. Her specialty, however, is the 500m, where she owns the world record and a two-year-long unbeaten streak.

The 25-year-old rocketed off the start line in Monday's race, skating the opening 200 meters in a staggering, field-leading 17.4 seconds. Leerdam's opening split was slowerd at 17.6 — a margin nearly imperceptible to anyone without a stop watch — but made up the difference in her second (26.5) and third (28.6) laps, posting the fastest times of any skater in each. 

"I knew that if during the race I would feel tired, I wasn't allowed to feel tired," Leerdam said. "I told myself, 'You have 80 years to recover from this, you can feel tired after. You don't want to live with that regret. You fought so hard for this.'"

The Netherlands, which has long dominated speed skating on the international level, has made the podium in six of the last seven Olympic 1000m competitions. Prior to the podium finishes from Leerdam and Kok, the Dutch had not earned a medal in any sport at the 2026 Games.

Takagi, who won the event in Beijing, crossed the finish line 1.4 seconds behind Kok to round out the podium. With her eighth career Olympic medal in five Games, she extends her lead as Japan's most decorated Winter Olympian. She also joins the United States' Bonnie Blair as the only woman to claim three 1000m prizes on the Olympic level.

American skater and world record holder Brittany Bowe finished in 4th, missing the podium by just 0.6 seconds. 

Bowe, 37, plans to retire after her fourth Olympic appearance. Over her 16 years as a professional speed skater, Bowe has carved her name among the American speed skating greats, collecting 91 World Cup medals, 22 national titles, six world titles (three in the 1000m), and four world records — three of which she earned in the 1000m. The last of those three, a time of 1.11:16, has stood since 2019.

"The level of women in this 1000m has been unbelievable. Some may say harder than ever," Bowe said of her finish, though she acknowledged her disappointment in missing the podium by the smallest of margins. "It's really exciting to be turning 38 in a couple of weeks and still be a contender and part of that very elite field."

Bowe has never found her way to the top of the 1000m podium on the Olympic stage but skated to bronze in Beijing for her first individual Olympic medal.

Erin Jackson, who specializes in the 500m but began training for the middle sprint in the last few years, placed 6th in her Olympic 1000m debut. She will look to defend the 500m Olympic title she won in Beijing against Kok Sunday, Feb. 15

"We still have a few days left [before the 500m], so I'll train really hard and focus on my speed. I'm looking forward to it," Kok said. "This race showed that my form is very good, so I hope I can continue that for the 500m."

Competition continues Wednesday, Feb. 11 with the men's 1000m, marking speed skating phenom Jordan Stolz's highly-anticipated Milan Olympics debut. Skaters are scheduled to take the ice at 12:30 p.m. E.T.