Miho Takagi (JPN) shook off some mid-season rust on Friday, winning two gold medals at her first ISU Four Continents Championships appearance. The Japanese superstar recorded a season-best time of 1:52.37 to win the 1500m, after she had already snatched gold in the Team Sprint with Kurumi Inagawa and Ayano Sato at the Utah Olympic Oval in Salt Lake City (USA).
Miho Takagi won her fifth-straight 1500m race Friday at the Four Continents Speed Skating Championships in Salt Lake City, USA © ISU
Shaking off the rust
Takagi, the 1000m Olympic champion, is the undefeated No. 1 in this season’s 1500m World Cup rankings after winning four consecutive races. On the fastest ice on earth, she left the rest of the field far behind. She smiled when she saw her season best 1500m time on the scoreboard.
“Of course. It’s the first time this season on (high altitude) fast ice.”
Mia Kilburg-Manganello (USA) finished second in 1:55.11, 2.74 seconds back, while Greta Myers (USA) took bronze with a personal best of 1:55.86, 3.49 seconds behind the winner.
Despite crushing the field, Takagi was 2.53 seconds slower than her own 2019 world record, also skated in Salt Lake City.
“My skating is not good yet. Every year, in the middle of January, my pace is not good, because I come back after training off ice, so I have to adjust to the ice again. But I got a lot of information from this race, and I can make improvements for next season or for the World Single Distance Championships (in Calgary, February 15-18).“
Takagi is looking forward to next week’s World Cup, again at the fast Utah Olympic Oval, and said she considers the Four Continents Championships a warm-up event.
“Normally, I think (the Four Continents Championships) is not as important as World Cup events or the World Championships. I’m skating because it fits well into the schedule, with the World Cup coming up next week.”
Kilburg-Manganello also had to shake off some rust on the ice, but managed to add a fifth Four Continents Championships medal to her tally, and in a color she hadn’t won before.
Mia Kilburg-Manganello earned her first silver medal at a Four Continents Speed Skating Championships © ISU
Kilburg-Manganello took three gold and a bronze at the 2019/20 event.
“Fantastic. This is the first race we’ve had in quite some time, since World Cup 4 (last December in Poland), so it feels like I’m starting all over again, getting back into race mode, and it’s really nice to get the first one out of the way.”
Kilburg-Manganello was a bit unlucky because her pair-mate — Nadezhda Morozova (KAZ), the defending champion – decided to pull-out with little notice.
“Stepping to the line and not seeing your pair, it’s a little bit of mind game. But all in all it’s always you against the clock, so it’s important to stay focused and think about your execution and I was doing that.”
Myers, who is just 19, won her career first international senior medal.
Greta Myers called her bronze medal at the Four Continents Speed Skating Championship a 'stepping stone' to bigger things © ISU
“(It’s a) big deal, really, a stepping stone to achieving bigger things in the future. I’m really excited. I was just going into the race thinking about staying relaxed in my technique, just doing what I practise every day. I know what I’m capable of, I just have to go out there and do it.”
World record attempt
Japan started the Team Sprint on Friday with a different lineup than the regular World Cup squad, with Inagawa, Sato and Takagi instead of Yukino Yoshida, Konami Soga and Kako Yamane.
“The Japanese haven't necessarily put their best team forward in the World Cup,” Canada’s Maddison Pearman said.
“So that today, for sure, is a very strong team. When we saw them (we knew) it was going to be tough to beat them.”
Japan won Team Sprint gold ahead of the USA and Canada at the Four Continents Speed Skating Championships © ISU
Takagi said they hadn't spent much time training together.
“The last time I skated a Team Sprit race is three or four years ago in Poland. Normally I do not skate the Team Sprint, but this time we wanted to take on the chance to skate a world record.”
With a time of 1:24.32, the Japanese women eventually fell 0.30 short of the 2020 world record set by the Netherland.
“It’s a pity we didn’t make it, but it was worth the effort,” Takagi smiled.
Sarah Warren, Erin Jackson and Brittany Bowe (USA) took silver in 1:25.00. They, too, had a different lineup than usual.
Greta Myers leads her team at the Four Continents Speed Skating Championships © ISU
“What's nice with the girls we have is we can interchange and you know everyone, they're the best in the world,” Warren said.
“It's our first time with this setup. And personally, I had a ton of fun, it’s super exciting. It's a race with your best friends and your idols. I thought we did an amazing job.”
Canada’s Pearman, Carolina Hiller and Ivanie Blondin (CAN) were third in 1:25.41.
Carolina Hiller paces Canada to a third-place finish at the Four Continents Speed Skating Championships © ISU
They had aimed for gold, but when they saw the Japanese lineup they knew their chances were slim, Hiller said.
“We're still happy to be out there. What we know what need to work on now. Just staying together off the start especially.”
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