# Speed skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics – Women's 1500 metres
The women's 1500 meters in long track speed skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics was a single-race event held on 12 February 2018 at the Gangneung Oval in PyeongChang, South Korea, and was won by Ireen Wüst of the Netherlands in 1:54.35.[1](https://world.kbs.co.kr/special/pyeongchang2018/section/news/news_view.html?lang=e&seqCode=56965) Japan's Miho Takagi took silver at 1:54.55, 0.20 seconds behind, and Wüst's compatriot [Marrit Leenstra](https://www.edgepedia.org/marrit-leenstra) won bronze in 1:55.26.[2](https://www.winterspelen.org/olympische-spelen-pyeongchang-2018/resultaten/schaatsen-vrouwen-1500-m/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date and venue | 12 February 2018, Gangneung Oval, PyeongChang[1](https://world.kbs.co.kr/special/pyeongchang2018/section/news/news_view.html?lang=e&seqCode=56965) |
| Champion | Ireen Wüst (NED), 1:54.35[1](https://world.kbs.co.kr/special/pyeongchang2018/section/news/news_view.html?lang=e&seqCode=56965) |
| Silver and bronze | Miho Takagi (JPN) 1:54.55; Marrit Leenstra (NED) 1:55.26[2](https://www.winterspelen.org/olympische-spelen-pyeongchang-2018/resultaten/schaatsen-vrouwen-1500-m/) |
| Field size | 27 participants from 14 National Olympic Committees[3](https://www.olympedia.org/event_names/539) |
| Wüst's medal record in the event | Bronze 2006, gold 2010, silver 2014, gold 2018[4](https://olympics.fandom.com/wiki/Speed_Skating_2018/Women%27s_1500_metre) |
| Career milestone | Fifth Olympic gold and tenth medal overall, making Wüst the most successful Dutch Olympian of all time[5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-olympics/42969315) |
| Track record entering the race | 1:54.08, Heather Bergsma, 12 February 2017[4](https://olympics.fandom.com/wiki/Speed_Skating_2018/Women%27s_1500_metre) |
## The race
Wüst skated in the 1:54.35 that held up through the closing pairs, and her margin over Takagi was 0.20 seconds; Leenstra followed at 1:55.26, with [Lotte van Beek](https://www.edgepedia.org/lotte-van-beek) fourth at 1:55.27, just 0.01 behind her teammate.[1](https://world.kbs.co.kr/special/pyeongchang2018/section/news/news_view.html?lang=e&seqCode=56965) • [2](https://www.winterspelen.org/olympische-spelen-pyeongchang-2018/resultaten/schaatsen-vrouwen-1500-m/) The final pair carried the main threat: the American world champion and world record-holder Heather Bergsma, paired with World Cup winner Miho Takagi, could not displace Wüst, and Bergsma finished eighth in 1:56.74.[4](https://olympics.fandom.com/wiki/Speed_Skating_2018/Women%27s_1500_metre) • [2](https://www.winterspelen.org/olympische-spelen-pyeongchang-2018/resultaten/schaatsen-vrouwen-1500-m/) [Brittany Bowe](https://www.edgepedia.org/brittany-bowe), the other American contender who had won at the United States Olympic trials, placed fifth in 1:55.54.[2](https://www.winterspelen.org/olympische-spelen-pyeongchang-2018/resultaten/schaatsen-vrouwen-1500-m/)
No time faster than Wüst's 1:54.35 was recorded, so the Gangneung Oval track record of 1:54.08, set by Heather Bergsma on 12 February 2017, survived the Olympic race.[4](https://olympics.fandom.com/wiki/Speed_Skating_2018/Women%27s_1500_metre)
## Results
The top ten, with times and gaps to the winner:[2](https://www.winterspelen.org/olympische-spelen-pyeongchang-2018/resultaten/schaatsen-vrouwen-1500-m/)
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ireen Wüst | NED | 1:54.35 | +0.00 |
| 2 | Miho Takagi | JPN | 1:54.55 | +0.20 |
| 3 | Marrit Leenstra | NED | 1:55.26 | +0.91 |
| 4 | Lotte van Beek | NED | 1:55.27 | +0.92 |
| 5 | Brittany Bowe | USA | 1:55.54 | +1.19 |
| 6 | Nao Kodaira | JPN | 1:56.11 | +1.76 |
| 7 | Ida Njåtun | NOR | 1:56.46 | +2.11 |
| 8 | Heather Bergsma | USA | 1:56.74 | +2.39 |
| 9 | Natalia Czerwonka | POL | 1:57.85 | +3.50 |
| 10 | Francesca Lollobrigida | ITA | 1:57.94 | +3.59 |
The field of 27 skaters represented 14 National Olympic Committees.[3](https://www.olympedia.org/event_names/539)
## Significance for Ireen Wüst
**A record medal haul.** The gold was the fifth of Wüst's Olympic career and her tenth medal overall, one more than the German speed skater [Claudia Pechstein](https://www.edgepedia.org/claudia-pechstein), who had held the speed skating record, and one more than the Dutch equestrian rider [Anky van Grunsven](https://www.edgepedia.org/anky-van-grunsven), making her the most successful Dutch Olympian of all time.[5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-olympics/42969315) It was also her second medal of the PyeongChang Games, following a silver in the 3000 meters two days earlier.[1](https://world.kbs.co.kr/special/pyeongchang2018/section/news/news_view.html?lang=e&seqCode=56965)
**A title regained.** The 1500 meters was the event in which Wüst had earned her first Olympic gold, at Vancouver 2010, and PyeongChang marked her recapture of the title she had lost to [Jorien ter Mors](https://www.edgepedia.org/jorien-ter-mors) at [Sochi](https://www.edgepedia.org/sochi) 2014.[6](https://www.danielyeow.com/2018/pyeongchang-day-3-ladies-1500m/) Across four editions of the event she had now taken bronze in 2006, gold in 2010, silver in 2014, and gold again in 2018.[4](https://olympics.fandom.com/wiki/Speed_Skating_2018/Women%27s_1500_metre)
## Context in the Games program
The long track 1500 meters was one of 14 speed skating events at PyeongChang 2018, after the International Skating Union and the [International Olympic Committee](https://www.edgepedia.org/international-olympic-committee) added men's and women's mass start races to the program for these Games.[7](https://spliss.research.vub.be/sites/default/files/2022-10/Factsheet-6-South-Korea.pdf) The Netherlands, whose [Olympic medal](https://www.edgepedia.org/olympic-medal) portfolio consists almost entirely of speed skating, took three of the top four places in this race, consistent with its standing as the dominant nation in the discipline.[2](https://www.winterspelen.org/olympische-spelen-pyeongchang-2018/resultaten/schaatsen-vrouwen-1500-m/) • [7](https://spliss.research.vub.be/sites/default/files/2022-10/Factsheet-6-South-Korea.pdf)
A separate women's 1500 meters was also contested in short track speed skating at the same Games, on 17 February at the Gangneung Ice Arena, where South Korea's Choi Min-jeong won gold, the host nation's third title of the Games.[8](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/sports/20180217/choi-min-jeong-wins-gold-in-womens-1500m-short-track-speed-skating/)
## References
1. [Wust Wins Women's 1,500M Speed Skating at PyeongChang Games, KBS World](https://world.kbs.co.kr/special/pyeongchang2018/section/news/news_view.html?lang=e&seqCode=56965)
2. [Olympische Spelen Pyeongchang 2018. Resultaten Schaatsen 1500 m vrouwen, Winterspelen.org](https://www.winterspelen.org/olympische-spelen-pyeongchang-2018/resultaten/schaatsen-vrouwen-1500-m/)
3. [Olympedia – Speed Skating, 1,500 metres, Women](https://www.olympedia.org/event_names/539)
4. [Speed Skating 2018/Women's 1500 metre, Olympics Wiki (Fandom)](https://olympics.fandom.com/wiki/Speed_Skating_2018/Women%27s_1500_metre)
5. [Winter Olympics: Skater Ireen Wust breaks records with 1500m gold, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-olympics/42969315)
6. [Pyeongchang Day 3: Ladies 1500m, danielyeow.com](https://www.danielyeow.com/2018/pyeongchang-day-3-ladies-1500m/)
7. [SPLISS Factsheet 6: South Korea and the 2018 Winter Games, Vrije Universiteit Brussel](https://spliss.research.vub.be/sites/default/files/2022-10/Factsheet-6-South-Korea.pdf)
8. [Choi Min-jeong wins gold in women's 1,500m short track speed skating, The Korea Times](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/sports/20180217/choi-min-jeong-wins-gold-in-womens-1500m-short-track-speed-skating/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Winter and ice sports › Ice skating sports › Speed skating (long track) › Speed skating at the Olympic Games › Women's 1500 m at the Olympics*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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