Photo/Illutration Nana Takagi falls during the women's speedskating mass start semifinals at the Beijing Olympics on Feb. 19. (The Asahi Shimbun)

BEIJING--Defending champion Nana Takagi crashed out in the semi-final of the women's mass start speedskating at the Beijing Olympics on Saturday, falling on the same corner as in the women's team pursuit final.

Takagi, who won the inaugural mass start competition in Pyeongchang four years ago, was leading the pack when she slipped on the very last corner with the finish line in sight.

The slip was reminiscent of her performance in the women's team pursuit final, where a fall on the same corner landed the leading Japanese team a silver and handed the gold to their rival Canadians.

"It was a really hard race... and I struggled to hold my own from the start, and that resulted in that fall. It's entirely my doing," Takagi said.

The spectators groaned as they saw her slip and Takagi looked distraught as she watched the pack speed away.

She picked herself up and skated to the finish line far behind the rest, just as she had in the team pursuit. The 29-year-old did not qualify for the final.

"There was some fear coming into the race because of my slip at the team pursuit," Takagi admitted, adding that she had managed to put her previous fall behind her.

"I did think it was my fault... but no one blamed me, and I was grateful that everyone just treated me like they usually would," she said.

"It also felt terrible that I couldn't deliver a gold medal to everyone in Japan who had supported me, but I got so many messages encouraging me," she added.

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