Ireen Wüst wins gold at fifth Olympics, setting record for longevity
ZHANGJIAKOU, China—Ireen Wüst skated her way into sports history Monday night, winning individual gold for a record fifth straight Olympics.
The Netherlands’ Wüst won the 1500m speedskating event with a time of 1:53.28, edging out Japan’s Miho Takagi by 0.44 seconds. Wust’s Dutch teammate Antoinette de Jong placed third with a time of 1:54.82.
The win gave Wüst gold medals in five separate Olympic Games: Beijing, PyeongChang (2018), Sochi (2014), Vancouver (2010) and Torino (2006). To top it off, she also set an Olympic record in the event.
“It’s really hard to describe,” Wüst said afterward. “A lot of emotions, especially the good ones. I don’t realize it yet. It’s insane, actually.”
Wüst is now the only athlete, male or female, to win individual gold in five different Olympics. She broke a tie with Ben Ainslie (Great Britain, sailing), Paul Elvstrøm (Denmark, sailing), Kaori Icho (Japan, wrestling), Carl Lewis (USA, track and field), Mijaín López (Cuba, wrestling), Al Oerter (USA, discus), and Michael Phelps (USA, swimming), all of whom have individual medals at four different Olympics.
With two events still remaining in Beijing, her final Olympics, Wüst has a chance to move into second place overall for career Winter Olympic medals. She has 12 now, tied with Bjørn Dæhlie (Norway, cross country). Ole Einar Bjørndalen (Norway, biathlon) has 13, and Marit Bjørgen (Norway, cross-country) has 15.
Among all female athletes in both summer and winter Olympics, Wüst ranks tied for third, behind Bjørgen and Larisa Latynina (Russia/Ukraine, gymnastics) with 18.
