Two-time Olympic speed skater and three-time medallist entered in five events as she prepares to lead her country through Games.
4 minBy Shintaro Kano
Speed Skating
Takagi Miho is Japan’s new Ironwoman.
The three-time Olympic medallist is set to compete in five speed skating events at what will be her third Winter Games in Beijing - the 500 metres, 1,000, 1,500, 3,000 and team pursuit.
Only two of Takagi’s compatriots have previously pulled off the five-event feat. Hashimoto Seiko at Calgary 1988 and Albertville 1992, and Tabata Maki at Turin 2006.
And on Thursday (20 January), as if she weren’t busy enough, Takagi added another item to check off on her to-do list:
Captaining the Japanese delegation.
“It is an absolute honour to be given this huge responsibility”, Takagi said, following in the footsteps of PyeongChang 2018 500 champion Kodaira Nao as being named female captain.
“I will try to be strong in the face of any and all challenges”.
The working girl
Challenged Takagi will certainly be.
Over a 13-day stretch, the 27-year-old could be in as many as seven races.
In PyeongChang, she won a medal of each colour - gold in the pursuit, silver in 1,500 and bronze in 1,000 - tying the Japan record with ski jumper Funaki Kazuki for most medals won at a single Olympic Winter Games.
In Beijing, Takagi will try to claim sole ownership of that mark by winning four medals - or more.
But she insists entering five events was never something she set out to do.
“To me, competing in five events is not that big of a deal”, Takagi said in a roundtable with reporters after being selected to her third Games.
“It’s not some huge goal I was dying to achieve. Of course it’s important I get through all five in one piece but that’s not the point of the exercise.
“I know it’s drawing a lot of attention but I personally don’t feel like I’m doing anything special. I’m just entering the events I want to take a shot at.
“If I think too much I might start saving myself when I shouldn’t. For starters, I’m going to only think about the first and third days of the competition. Those two races first and then I’ll worry about the rest”.
In a sport where the trend is to lock in on one or distances, Takagi is something of a rare breed.
When Johan de Wit took over the Japanese programme in 2015, the Dutchman tried to narrow Takagi’s focus but the skater insisted on varying her distances.
Perhaps the versatility comes naturally. Takagi was a serious footballer - a striker, good enough to be called up to the under-15 national training camp - before she took up speed skating full-time.
“When Johan first came, he wanted me to pick a distance but I told him I wanted to keep doing what I was doing.
“I had to work to prove it to him. I had to show him this was the best way for me. And it’s what has led me to where I am today.
“I’m just grateful I’ve had so many opportunities to skate in my life. That’s where I think I’ve been fortunate. And through that experience, I felt it fit my style to not concentrate on only one distance.
“People tried to talk me out of it but I came to realise - and my coaches, too - that the more I skated at different distances, the better it was for me”.
At Vancouver 2010, Takagi became the youngest Japanese speed skater to make her Games debut at 15.
She missed the cut entirely for Sochi 2014 but bounced back and then some in PyeongChang.
What awaits Takagi in Beijing remains to be seen. But she is almost to the finish line.
“At the Olympics, there are no guarantees”, she said.
“The Olympics to me is… where my goal is. I’ll keep it simple. I’ve been running towards it all long. It’s my goal”.
