Beijing, China, February 13, 2022: Japan’s team captain Miho Takagi won her second silver medal of Beijing 2022 when she finished second in the women’s 500 metres at the National Speed Skating Oval on Sunday night.
Jackson won the shortest distance race in speed skating with a time of 37.04 seconds. Takagi, skating in the fourth pair at the Ice Ribbon, clocked 37.12, just 0.08 seconds behind, and Angelina Golikova of the Russian Olympic Committee won bronze in 37.21.
When asked if she considered withdrawing from the 500 metres after her silver medal in the 1,500m, Takagi replied: “After the 1,500m I was disappointed and sad. I went through a range of emotions, quite negative emotions. But there was the medal ceremony that I had to attend, and I reflected back on the work I’d done and tried to organise my thoughts.
“I did think about how committed I could be to the 500m. I had to go deep within myself and really question myself.”
Takagi said she talked to her Dutch coach, Johan de Wit, and they decided to compete in the 500m.
“He just told me I was tensing up, to relax. That’s all he said. Those words have a big meaning. He is not just talking about me relaxing,” Takagi added.
"I listened to his words and thought about how that’s affecting my skating and how it’s changed my skating. Those words were very important to me.”
Photo: ISU Speed Skating