500 metres, Women

Few people doubted that the gold medal in this event would be won by Femke Kok. The Dutch sprinter had gone unbeaten for two years, and had claimed the World title in the event in 2023-25. In the 2025/26 season, she had won all seven World Cups that she had raced in, her smallest margin of victory being 0.29 seconds. In Salt Lake City she had recorded a massive improvement of the world record, lowering it to 36.09, a time that would have been a men’s world record as recently as 1993. Moreover, Kok had claimed silver in the 1,000 m in Milano. Of the other participants, medal contenders appeared to be defending champion Erin Jackson, who had recorded good results during the season but had also struggled with a back injury. Kaja Ziomek-Nogal and Yukino Yoshida had both won a World Cup race - in Kok’s absence. The 1,000 m gold medalist Jutta Leerdam had shown her form and was also considered for the podium.

Early in the program was Miho Takagi of Japan. Although a silver medallist in 2022, she rarely skated the 500 m internationally, having won a World Cup B group race in the season. She recorded a terrific opening of 10.40 and continued on to 37.27, her best time since becoming World Sprint Champion in 2024. Few skaters could approach the time in the next pairs. Serena Pergher came surprisingly close with 37:30, just 0.01 outside of her personal best. Leerdam raced in pair 11. Trailing Sophie Warmuth at the 100 m line, she clocked a great 26.5-lap to move into first with 37:15. Ziomek (37.39) and Yoshida (37.98) failed to make it into the medal positions. In the final pair, Jackson and Kok raced each other. They started with the fastest two openings of the day: 10.18 (Kok) and Jackson (10.25). Kok then powered away to a massive 36.49, the sixth fastest 500 m of all time, while Jackson finished just behind Takagi and Pergher with 37.32. In addition to a new Olympic Record, it was also a new unofficial low-altitude world record.

This gave the podium to the same three skaters as in the 1,000 m, but with first and second place reversed. Before this race, the Netherlands had only won a single bronze medal in the 500 m, but with Kok and Leerdam it now had two skaters on the podium. Takagi recorded her ninth Olympic medal. The 0.66 difference between gold and silver was the largest in the event since 1972, when Anne Henning won with 0.68, skated in a re-skate.