As if the Dutch were not dominant enough in speed skating during these Olympic games, they decided to skate 1-2-3-4 in the Ladies' 1500 meters event. Jorien Ter Mors skated the 1500 meters in an Olympic record of 1:53.51. Favorite Ireen Wust finished a well beaten 2nd by 0.58 seconds and Lotte Van Beek skated into 3rd place, 1.03 seconds behind Ter Mors. Marrit Leenstra was 4th for the Netherlands, finishing in 1:56.40 and 2.89 seconds behind Ter Mors. The Dutch have 17 medals at the Olympic Games, 16 of them in long track speed skating. As of the close of competition on Sunday, February 17, they are 1st overall with 17 medals, one ahead of both Russia and the United States.
Speaking of the United States, their horrendous showing at the speed skating oval continues. Heather Richardson was the top US skater in 7th place, over 4 seconds behind the torrid pace set by Jorien Ter Mors. Brittany Bowe finished 14th, 4.80 seconds behind with Jilleanne Rookard finishing 18th overall in a time of 1:59.15. It may be time for the US to ditch the idea that the suits were holding them back. The simple fact is they are being outskated in every competition on the long track oval.
Had it not been for the utter dominance of the Netherlands, Yuliya Skokova would have had a chance to win a medal for Russia. She finished 5th overall in 1:56.45, just 0.05 seconds behind Marritt Leenstra for 4th. Overall, the Russian team did very well finishing 8th, 9th, and 10th with Yekaterina Lobysheva, Olga Fatkulina, and Yekaterina Shikhova, respectively.
There are four events left in the speed skating discipline. The Men's 10,000 meters will be on Tuesday, the Ladies' 5000 meters will be on Wednesday, and both the Men's and Ladies' team pursuit events will take place over the course of two days starting on Friday.