The Women’s 3000 M race was just as thrilling as the Men’s 5000 M, and though it did not result in a sweep, it did have an unexpected outcome. The competition started out by pitting Russia and Japan against each other. Though Russia’s crowd was more enthusiastic, Japan took the top time at the beginning of the afternoon’s speed skating action.
From there, the American skater Anna Ringsred took to the ice to face off against her Austrian opponent. Unfortunately, the race did not go in Ringsred’s favor. The Austrian skater slowly pulled away leaving Ringsred in the dust. The next heat featured low-seeded Canadian and Korean skaters, though their race was impressive. They both stayed ahead of the leader’s time for part of the race. Korea’s Kim-Beu Reng pulled ahead after the hallway point and set the new time to beat at 4:12:08.
After several nearly uneventful heats, Russia’s famous crowd roar made an appearance in Yuliya Skokova’s race against Korean Yang Sy. Skokova took an early lead and the crowd went nuts. The Russian skater flew around the track with skillful ease. It was no contest, Skokova’s splits were incredible, and she destroyed the lead time with a 4:09:35. The crowd response was so large for this heat that the proceeding heat had to be reset due to noise.
After the reset, Canada’s Schussler squared off against Poland’s Zlotkowska. Poland, took the early lead but Canada followed close behind. The race was neck and neck for nearly the entire time, but Poland pulled away at the very end. Neither time made it into the top three slots. The Dutch made their appearance next with skater Van Der Weuden racing against Germany’s Kraus. Unsurprisingly, the Dutch took the early lead, but both skaters were under the leader’s time. Van Der Weuden stayed ahead of the lead time as she rounded corners quickly. By the final lap she was 1.2 seconds ahead, and at the finish she secured an easy lead time with a 4:05:75.
Belgium’s Peeters and Poland’s Czerwonka perform an exciting race with a cat and mouse chase. In the end, Belgium made a comeback and passed Poland on the final lap. However, neither skater made the top three spots. The stage was now set for an astounding surprise. A huge match-up between American Jilleanne Rookard and Russia’s Olga Graff was about to begin.
The race began with screaming Russians and Americans. The competitors were neck and neck on the straightaways, but Graff formed a slight lead. Graff was not expected to do much, but she proved those expectations wrong. After being behind the leader’s time, Graff had a tremendous burst of speed and left the American skater in the dust. Not only that, but she passed the leader’s time. In the final lap, the Russian crowd is roaring, and Olga Graff, the unexpected, finishes with a new top time of 4:03:47.
Only four heats remained and next to race was one of the oldest Olympic speed skaters, Peckstein of Germany. As she raced against her Norwegian opponent Nuaatun, it was clear that Peckstein was not going to be threat to Graff, but her time is fast enough to put here in the number 2 spot with 4:05:26. Czechoslovakian skater Martiina Sablikova then took on Polish racer Curus in an epic race. Both racers were neck and neck for the longest time, and Sablikova eventually pulled ahead. It was not until the final lap that she used a massive speed boost which rocketed here into the new leader spot. Her time stood at 4:01:94.
The Netherland’s skater Wuest was waiting for her turn to take the ice. The time came and she pulled off an amazing performance. Wuest took a huge early lead from her opponent Ishzawa of Japan and was moving at incredible speeds. These speeds put her 1.5 seconds above the leader’s time. She was absolutely flying, and the results showed it. Wuest moved into the leader’s spot with a stunning time of 4:00:34.
Only one heat remained. The only thing stopping Wuest from gold was teammate De Jong and Japan’s Houzumi. The race began and all three women, Wuest, Sablikoba, and Graff held their breath. De Jong skated at a fast pace, but it did not look like a podium pace. Would it be enough to take the top three spots? No! The gold medal in a speed skating competition once again goes to the Dutch, with Czech Sablikova taking silver, and Russian Olga Graff taking bronze.
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