3,000 metres, Women

For years, the 3,000 m had been a battleground between two skaters: Ireen Wüst and Martina Sáblíková. The Dutchwoman had won Olympic gold in the event in 2006 and 2014, while winning world titles in 2011, 2013 and 2017. Czech Republic’s Sáblíková had won the 2010 Olympic title and was World Champion in 2007, 2012 and 2015-16. In addition, Sáblíková had won the combined 3,000 m/5,000 m World Cup 11 seasons in a row, since 2006/2007. Despite these impressive records, neither woman was in great shape in the run-up to the Olympics. Both had suffered from injuries early in the skating season, and neither had recorded a win in the World Cup circuit. Others were eager to step in the void left by these dominant skaters, with World Cup wins recorded by Antoinette de Jong, Miho Takagi, Nataliya Voronina and Ivanie Blondin.

None of these would claim the gold, however, as it was quite unexpectedly won by Carlijn Achtereekte. She had surprisingly secured a spot in one of the major commercial teams, and had earned the third Olympic spot at the Dutch trials, behind De Jong and Wüst. In Pyeongchang, she skated early in the field, recording 3:59.21, a fraction slower than the track record that had been set by Wüst at the 2017 World Championships. Wüst was the first of the favorites to race, and she seemed to comfortably go below Achtereekte’s mark, having a 1.5 second lead with just 2 laps to go. But Wüst’s pace slowed in the final 400 m, and she crossed the line a fraction slower: 3:59.28. The 11th pair saw Takagi and De Jong competing, but neither seriously approached Achtereekte’s splits. De Jong came closest with 4:00.02, leaving three Dutch women in medal positions with one pair left. In that final pair, Sáblíková recorded consistent lap times, but without her usual speed. A good final lap did bring her close to the podium, but she couldn’t do better than 4:00.54. The Dutch sweep of the medals was the third time a single country won all medals in the 3,000 m. This had happened before in 1984 (East Germany) and 1998 (Germany).