Photo/Illutration Miho Takagi hugs her head coach, Johan de Wit, after winning the women’s 1,000-meter speedskating event at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing on Feb. 17. (Nobuo Fujiwara)

BEIJING—A comment made in jest by her sister seemed to put Miho Takagi in the right frame of mind for her last chance to win an elusive gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.

On the morning of Feb. 17, Nana Takagi told her younger sister, “People say that even four silver medals would be a great achievement.”

The sisters laughed, and then Miho headed for the starting line for the 1,000-meter event at the National Speed Skating Oval.

It was Miho’s seventh race in five events in 13 days.

So far, she had won three silver medals, and she felt the pressure to finally reach the top of the podium.

Takagi was in a good mood before her skate.

“I concentrated only on taking a perfect first step and then having my best performance throughout the race,” she said.

When it was all over, she tearfully hugged her head coach, Johan de Wit, saying, “Thank you.”

Takagi had claimed her first individual Olympic gold medal.

She had won a gold medal in the team pursuit, as well as a silver and bronze at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.

“I was struggling here for a longer time than at the Pyeongchang Olympics (to win gold),” she said. “But I am happy that this gold medal, in my last race, showed the strength of the team (and its support.)” 

Takagi is known for accelerating in the latter half of 1,000-meter races, but she exploded at the start on Feb. 17 and recorded 17.60 seconds at the 200-meter mark to tie for first place.

“Honestly, I pushed my body to the limit,” she said.

But she was quite familiar with the ice and thought that she would be OK if she kept her body in a lower position even if her legs got really tired.

Her finishing time of 1 minute, 13.19 seconds, set an Olympic record.

“I did it!” she said, pumping her fists in the air.

Before the Beijing Olympics, she said she was confused by people who expressed concerns about the number of events she was entering.

“I didn’t put great significance on the number of events,” she said. “Skating in the five events was not absolutely necessary.”

Her approach to the five events was quite simple.

“I just want to take on the challenges for each event I will compete in,” she said.

For several years, Takagi has entered as many races as possible, short distances or long, despite objections voiced by others.

During her high school days, she would compete in 50 or more races in one season.

“Before my seventh and last race, I viewed the 1,000 meters as a very short race of just two laps,” she said. “I could probably think like this mainly because I had experienced so many races in the past.”

Takagi was a strong favorite for the gold medal in the 1,500-meter race, but she placed a “regrettable” second.

She was so disappointed with the result that she considered withdrawing from the 500-meter event. But she stayed in and won the silver medal.

“The silver medal was testament to the challenge I took, so I am proud of it,” she said.

In the final of the team pursuit, Nana fell in the final lap of a close race, and Japan took the silver.

After the race, Takagi supported her teary-eyed sister and took pride in the silver medal.

“I had three different feelings toward the three silver medals because I had emotional ups and downs,” she said. “For the last 1,000-meter race, I was more delighted with achieving a spirited and powerful performance than I was with gaining the gold medal.”

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