Irene Schouten of the Netherlands topped the podium in the women’s mass start on Saturday, clinching her third individual speed skating gold medal of the Winter Olympics.

In a photo finish, Schouten passed Canada’s Ivanie Blondin in the last 100 meters, with the two skaters in a dead sprint to the finish line. Schouten edged Blondin by just 0.06 seconds to win gold. Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida finished behind Schoten and Blondin for bronze.

Schouten, 29, also took home gold in the 3000m and 5000m speed skating events and captured bronze in the team pursuit competition in Beijing.

Schouten joins Ireen Wuest as the only Dutch speed skater to win four medals at a single Olympic Games, after Wuest earned five in 2014.

“My dream was after these Games to be called an Olympic champion, and now I am a three-time champion,” Schouten said after the race. “I am living the dream.”

Japanese speed skater Miho Takagi took gold in the 1,000 meters on Thursday, her first individual gold of her career and her fourth medal of the Beijing Games.

She previously won silver in the 500, 1,500 and team pursuit at the Beijing Games.

With a time of 1:13.19, Takagi easily broke the previous Olympic record of 1:13.56 set by Jorien ter Mores in 2018.

Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands took silver with a time of 1:13.83 as Team USA’s Brittany Bowe claimed bronze in 1:14.61 – just 0.1 ahead of Russia’s Angelina Golikova.

“I’ve got a ton of emotions,” Bowe said afterward. “Honored, blessed, happy. Words can’t describe it. Thanks to the countless number of people encouraging me. It means so much, it’s been quite the journey.

“Everyone pushed me to the line to bring home that bronze.”

Previously, Bowe’s only medal over three Olympic Games had been a bronze medal in the team pursuit at the Pyeongchang Games.

It’s the third Olympic medal for Team USA at these games – Erin Jackson won gold in the 500 meters – after winning just one medal total in speed skating over the last two Winter Olympics.

Choi Min-Jeong defended her 1500m short track Olympic title Wednesday, taking home gold in the event in Beijing.

The South Korean speed skater’s golden performance came after setting a new Olympic record of 2:16.831 in her semifinal race, securing her the world and Olympic records in the women’s 1500m.

Choi skated into first place halfway through Wednesday’s final, beating out Italy’s Arianna Fontana and Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands.

The 23-year-old’s gold medal joins her 1000m and 3000m short track silver medals from the Beijing games.

Schulting’s bronze-medal performance earned her her fourth medal of the 2022 Winter Games, the most in a single Olympics by a female short track speed skater.

Speed skater Erin Jackson finished first in the 500m final on Sunday, becoming the first American to win gold since Bonnie Blair in 1994.

Jackson is also the first Black woman to win a speed skating gold medal in Olympics history. She joins Shani Davis as the only Black athletes to win speed skating medals at the Olympics.

Jackson finished in a time of 37.04, just .08 ahead of Japan’s Takagi Miho, who set a high bar with a 37.12 earlier in the event. Angelina Golikova of the Russian Olympic Committee took home bronze for her first Olympic medal.

American teammates Brittany Bowe, who originally gave up her Olympic roster spot to Jackson, finished 16th and Kimi Goetz 18th.

Jackson has been on a roll in the past year. In November, she became the first Black woman to win a World Cup event in speed skating. The next month, she set an American record at a World Cup event in Salt Lake City, completing the 500m in 36.80 seconds. The 29-year-old entered the Beijing Games ranked No. 1 in the world.

A two-time Olympian, Jackson made her Olympic debut in 2018 at the PyeongChang Games, just four months after picking up speed skating.

The Netherlands’ Ireen Wüst made history Monday, becoming the first person to win a gold medal at five different Winter Olympics.

The 35-year-old won the 1500m event in speedskating at the Beijing Winter Olympics, recording a time of 1:53.28 to set a new Olympic record. Miho Takagi followed close behind, with Wüst beating her by only .44 seconds.

Wüst’s countrywoman Antoinette de Jong earned bronze, finishing with a time of 1:54.82.

Monday’s win marks Wüst’s fifth straight gold in five different Olympics, a feat only she has accomplished after topping the podium in Beijing, PyeongChang, Sochi, Vancouver and Torino.

With 12 Olympic medals to her name, Wüst has a chance to add to her impressive medal haul, with two events left in what will be the Dutch speedskater’s last Olympics.

Team USA flagbearer Brittany Bowe finished 10th in the 1500m competition, clocking a time of 1:55.81.

Italy’s Arianna Fontana extended her speedskating reign, defending her gold medal in the 500m short track event Monday at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

The 31-year-old finished with a time of 42.488, beating Suzanne Schulting of The Netherlands by .71 seconds.

Fontana’s 500m performance marks her tenth Olympic medal, with her silver in short track mixed team relay Saturday making the Italian the most decorated short track speedskater in Olympic history.

Canada’s Kim Boutin rounded out the 500m podium, earning bronze, while Americans Maame Biney and Kristen Santos were eliminated after the quarterfinals.

Irene Schouten won gold in the women’s 3,000 meters Saturday, breaking an Olympic record in the process.

Schouten has dominated the long-distance events on the World Cup circuit this season. That didn’t change Saturday as she broke a 20-year-old Olympic record to win the gold.

She finished in a time of 3 minutes, 56.93 seconds.

“I had a lot of pressure from not only the medalists but also from myself,” said Schouten. “I made it, so I was really happy.”

The previous Olympic mark was 3:57.70, set by Germany’s Claudia Pechstein at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. Pechstein was present to watch her record fall Saturday, skating in the opening pair. She became the oldest female athlete in Olympic history at 49. The German flag bearer was also just the second athlete – and first woman – to compete in eight Winter Games.

“I am the only woman in the whole world to be at eight Olympic Winter Games,” she said. “The result of today was not so important. It was just to race and to be here. I am super proud.”

Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida raced Schouten in the final pair. She held on to take silver in 3:58.06.

“To be in the last pair with Irene, I was quite happy,” the three-time Olympian said “I knew she’s the best, so I wanted in the beginning to be in the front and try to keep close to her at the finish line. I’m quite happy. This silver medal is kind of gold for me.”

Canada’s Isabelle Weidemann took bronze in 3:58.64.

The Beijing Olympics begin Friday, with athletes set to compete in 109 medal events across seven sports and 15 disciplines. Competitors from 91 countries will fight it out for a spot on the podium, looking to make a name for themselves on the world’s biggest stage.

Before the opening ceremonies, we’re counting down the 10 athletes poised for a breakout Olympics.

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1. Eileen Gu

Eileen Gu is set to make a splash at the Beijing Olympics as one of the host country’s medal favorites. The 18-year-old American-born free skier has competed for China since 2019, garnering widespread support across the country leading up to the Winter Games. Gu is expected to be a threat in halfpipe, big air and slopestyle, winning gold in the halfpipe and slopestyle events at the 2021 World Championship.

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2. Alysa Liu

Alysa Liu will make her Olympic debut in Beijing at just 16 years old. The American figure skater has already amassed an impressive resume as the youngest woman to ever win a U.S. national championship at 13 years old, before defending her title a year later. Liu is also the first American woman to land a quad lutz in competition and the first woman in the world to land a quad and triple axel in the same program in competition. The record-breaking teen will now look to make a name for herself and bring home a medal for Team USA.

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3. Paula Moltzan

Paula Moltzan is going for gold in her Olympic debut after a landmark 2021. The American slalom specialist clinched her first World Cup podium this season in parallel slalom and finished 11th in slalom. The 27-year-old could challenge opponents in individual events and be a critical factor in the team competition.

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4. Olivia Giaccio

Olivia Giaccio hopes to make a name for herself on the world’s stage in Beijing, representing Team USA in freestyle skiing. The 21-year-old has already begun to separate herself from the competition, becoming the first woman to complete a cork 1080 during the Tremblant, Canada World Cup stop in January. Look out for the American to be a contender on the moguls in Beijing.

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5. Kristen Santos

Kristen Santos is looking for redemption in Beijing after suffering an injury just before the 2018 Olympics. A competitor’s skate sliced open her left hand, leaving Santos in a cast and with little preparation time for the U.S. Trials. The 25-year-old is one of the best chances Team USA has to clinch a medal in short track speed skating, with the United States’ last medal in the discipline coming in 2010.

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6. Abby Roque

Abby Roque is set to make history at the Winter Games, becoming the first Native American woman to represent the U.S. in ice hockey. The 24-year-old has had an impressive career to date, including clinching the 2018-19 NCAA national championship with the University of Wisconsin. In her Olympic debut, Roque will hope to lead the U.S hockey team to a gold in Beijing, defending the team’s 2018 title.

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7. Kamila Valieva

Expect Kamila Valieva to become a household name after the Winter Olympics, with the 15-year-old the heavy favorite to take home figure skating gold in Beijing. The Russian star is incredibly consistent, never losing a senior international tournament while boasting a packed arsenal that includes a quadruple toe loop, quadruple Salchow and triple Axel. Valieva is expected to win gold in Beijing and break records while doing it.

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8. Natalie Geisenberger

While Beijing is far from Natalie Geisenberger’s Olympic debut, it could be a historic Winter Games for the German luger. After capturing luge gold in Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018, another gold in Beijing would make Geisenberger the first woman to win three straight gold medals in the sport. Now a mother, giving birth to her son in May 2020, the 33-year-old has a shot at her sixth total Olympic medal in Beijing.

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9. Erin Jackson

Erin Jackson made her Olympic debut in PyeongChang after only four months of experience on ice, transitioning from inline skating to speed skating just before the 2018 Games. Now, a four-year veteran of the sport, Jackson is looking to podium as one of the top athletes in the 500-meter event.

The American star nearly missed her chance to qualify for the race after slipping at the U.S. Olympic trials before teammate Brittany Bowe gave up her spot to Jackson, telling NBC, “She is ranked number one in the world and no one is more deserving than her to get an opportunity to bring Team USA home a medal.”

Jackson heads into the Winter Games with some historic momentum after becoming the first Black woman to win a World Cup event in speed skating in November.

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10. Sara Takanashi

Sara Takanashi is already famous among ski jumpers as the all-time World Cup leader in the sport. Any medal or title there is to win in ski jumping, it is likely Takanashi has already won it, with the Olympic gold medal the only prize to elude the Japanese champion. Heading into Beijing, Takanashi will look to solidify herself as the best to ever compete in the discipline and assert herself on the international stage.

Speedskater Brittany Bowe gave up her Olympics spot in the 500 meters on Sunday, allowing teammate Erin Jackson to take the second and final spot in her place.

Jackson, who is the world’s top-ranked skater in the event, slipped in the speedskating trials and finished third. Bowe and second-place finisher Kimi Goetz claimed the two spots for Beijing.

Under US Speedskating rules, Jackson wasn’t allowed a re-skate. Only a mechanical failure or a fall would enable a do-over.

“Erin has earned her right to be on this 500 meter team,” Bowe told NBC on Sunday. “No one is more deserving than her to bring Team USA home a medal. After that unfortunate slip, I knew in my mind before that night was even over that if it had to come down to a decision of mine, she could have my place.”

In November, Jackson became the first Black woman to win a World Cup event. On the World Cup circuit, she won four of eight 500 races, along with a second- and a third-place finish.

It will be her second Olympic appearance after finishing 24th in the 500 in 2018. At the time, it hadn’t been long after Jackson switched from inline skating to the ice.

“It’s hard to really put it into words. I’m beyond grateful,” Jackson said. “And humbled. And I’m happy.”

The duo’s relationship dates back to childhood, as they grew up skating together in the same hometown of Ocala, Florida.

On Sunday, Jackson called Bowe “an awesome mentor” and friend.

The three-time Olympian Bowe will still compete in Beijing in the 1,000 and 1,500. And there’s still a chance she could compete in the 500. Final quota allocations for the Olympics will be determined later this month, and the U.S. could pick up a third spot in the sprint.

Other Olympic teams have begun to take shape, including figure skating, which announced its team on Sunday.