Dutchwoman Maraike Grunewald won the mass start title of the speed skating tournament and now has a full set of Olympic medals. She came third in the team pursuit in Beijing 2022 and second in the discipline in Milan-Cortina 2026, and now the 27-year-old Dutchwoman is also an Olympic champion, BTA reported.
Grunewald rode in the leading group for most of the race, saved her strength and attacked in the final sprint. In lap number 14 she climbed to fourth position, then took first place in lap 15 and defended it in the last to win in 8:34.70 minutes and 60 points.
Grunewald is a three-time world champion in the mass start, and also has a European title.
Canadian Ivany Blonden finished in second place with 40 points and a time of 8:35.09 minutes. For her, this is the second consecutive silver medal in the discipline at the Olympic Games, but she is also a two-time gold medalist in the team pursuit from Beijing and Milan-Cortina. American Mia Manganelo finished third with 20 points and a time of 8:35.39 minutes, and local fan favorite Francesca Lollobrigida failed to reach the honors with fourth place. She still finished the tournament with two long-distance titles.
Earlier today, Jorit Bergsma became the Olympic champion in the men's mass start speed skating at the Games in Milan-Cortina.
The 40-year-old Dutchman crossed the finish line first after a brilliantly tactical race, scoring 68 points in 16 laps. Bergsma won an Olympic title for the second time in his career, following his success in the 10,000 meters at the 2014 Sochi Games. He has three other Olympic medals - bronze from Milano-Cortina in the 10,000 meters, silver in the 10,000 meters from Pyeongchang 2018 and bronze in the 5,000 meters from Sochi 2014.
Den Viktor Hald Thorup finished second in the mass start final with 47 points, while the bronze medal went to the home team's representative from Italy, Andrea Giovanni, with 21 points.
Bergsma and Thorup attacked early to secure a four-second lead over the main group. They skated side by side until the 13th lap, when Bergsma broke away from Thorup and took the lead alone, with the rest of the pack far behind.
One of the speed skating heroes of the Milan-Cortina Games, Jordan Stolz of the United States, failed in his bid to become the first speed skating athlete in 32 years to win three gold medals at a single Olympics after finishing fourth in the mass start. The American has two Milan-Cortina titles - in the 500 and 1000 meters, as well as a silver in the 1500 meters.
The Beijing 2022 Olympic champion in the event, Bart Swings of Belgium, finished ninth in the final.