MILAN (AP) — The wall of sound coming from the large contingent of orange-clad Dutch fans just kept growing for speedskater Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong at the Milan Cortina Winter Games on Friday.
When she was introduced before her heat in the 1,500 meters. When the arena's video boards showed her ahead of the pace set by the previous leader. And, most ear-splittingly, when Rijpma-de Jong crossed the line and the number “1” appeared by her name to signify she’d moved into first place.
Soon, those roars from thousands of Rijpma-de Jong's closest friends returned, because the last two skaters failed to surpass her time of 1 minute, 54.9 seconds — making her first Olympic gold, and sixth career medal overall, a certainty.
“That’s the feeling that you love the most,” Rijpma-de Jong said. “That’s the feeling when you skate in (the Netherlands). … I am so happy that so many people came to cheer us to the finish line. It was so loud. And it feels so good.”
She was just 0.06 seconds faster than silver medalist Ragne Wiklund of Norway. Valerie Maltais of Canada took the bronze, 0.31 behind Rijpma-de Jong.
“It was really close,” the champion said, “but it was enough — and that’s what’s important.”
Wiklund skated in the 13th of 15 heats, one before Rijpma-de Jong. With a lap to go for the eventual winner, Wiklund said, she thought: “Maybe I do have a shot.”
But all she could do was watch as Rijpma-de Jong surpassed her time.
“She has been performing so, so well for so many years,” Wiklund said. "She knows what she’s doing."
Each medalist in the 1,500 will leave the Milano Speed Skating Stadium with multiple prizes. Rijpma-de Jong already had a silver from team pursuit; Wiklund had a silver in the 3,000 and bronze in the 5,000; Maltais had a gold in team pursuit and bronze in 3,000.
In all, 2023 1,500 world champion Rijpma-de Jong's Olympic haul now includes one gold, two silvers and three bronzes.
Missing from the field was Dutch star Joy Beune, who won all four 1,500 World Cup races she entered this season but surprisingly didn’t qualify for the distance at her country’s Olympic trials in December, sparking a debate over the way Netherlands selects its speedskating team for the Games.
But the Dutch women still got the gold at this distance, to go with wins by Femke Kok in the 500 and Jutta Leerdam in the 1,000.
American Brittany Bowe, who raced head-to-head against Rijpma-de Jong in the 14th of 15 heats, wound up fourth Friday — the same spot she was in the 1,000 meters and team pursuit in Milan.
Bowe, who turns 38 on Tuesday and had said beforehand this would be her final Olympics, has two Winter Games bronzes: from the 1,000 in 2022 and team pursuit in 2018.
Bowe got engaged during these Olympics to U.S. women’s hockey captain Hilary Knight, who scored as her team won a gold medal by beating Canada 2-1 in overtime on Thursday.
“Speedskating has shaped me into the person I am, so it's so sad,” Bowe said about retiring, “but it's also so great that I'm able to finish on my own terms because a lot of athletes don’t have that opportunity.”
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Sat, 2/28, 1-4 pm Congregational Church, San Mateo and Sun, 3/1, 10am-noon, First Presbyteri… Read moreHEAR NATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION - AND DEMOCRACY - ADVOCATE REV. JIM ANTAL IN SAN MATEO AND PALO ALTO
With playing described as “stylish and full of fire,” Ensemble Mirable has captivated listen… Read moreEnsemble Mirable: Baroque Masterpieces on period instruments
“Powerful, moving, and exhilarating” Read moreSongs For A New World
Exclusive film screening in San Mateo Read moreA LITTLE FELLOW: THE LEGACY OF A.P.GIANNINI
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.