1,000 metres, Women

As in the men’s event, where Shani Davis had been the red hot favorite, the favorites for the women’s 1,000 m were American. Heather Richardson had won three of the four World Cup races earlier in the season, the other going to her teammate Brittany Bowe, in a race that saw Bowe capture the World Record (1:12.58). Defending Olympic Champion Christine Nesbitt had also won world titles in 2011 and 2012, but had not been a contender since and was not considered for the title. The 2013 World Champion, Russian Olga Fatkulina was favored, especially given her silver medal performance in the 500 m. The 3,000 m champion Ireen Wüst had placed second behind Fatkulina in 2013, and was also assumed to be able to win. In the end though, none of these won gold.

The gold medallist already raced before the ice preparation break, which came after 9 pairs. In pair 7, Chinese race Zhang Hong came to the ice. Already a surprising 3rd after one heat in the 500 m, Zhang was feared for her fast laps, which often “compensated” for her poor starts. Nevertheless, she had already won two medals at the World Sprint Championships, including a silver behind the now injured Yu Jing several weeks before the Olympics. In her Olympic 1,000 m, Zhang started well, and her first lap was unrivalled at 27.09. Combined with a closing lap that only one skater would better (28.99), this gave her an amazing 1:14.02, just narrowly slower than Richardson’s lowland world record. Pair after pair failed to approach it. Only in the 16th pair did Margot Boer and Fatkulina seriously attack Zhang’s time. The Russian opened faster and had a great first lap to lead Zhang’s time by 2 tenths at the bell. But Fatkulina paid dearly for her fast start, and lost all of her advantage in the last 200 m, as she also saw Margot Boer pass her. The Dutch racer, 3rd in the 500 m, recorded 1:14.90, which would eventually earn her a second bronze medal. Wüst fought off Bowe with the best final lap of the field to get to 1:14.69, the second best time of the day. Eagerly awaiting the final pair in the inner field, Zhang Hong celebrated China’s first Olympic gold medal in speed skating ever, after three silver and three bronze medals.