Femke Kok Wins 500m, Sets Olympic Record
Femke Kok won the women's 500m in an Olympic-record 36.49 at the Milan Cortina Games, denying Jutta Leerdam a 500/1,000 double and leaving defending champion Erin Jackson fifth.
Overview
Femke Kok won the women's 500 meters at the Milan Cortina Games in an Olympic-record 36.49 seconds, beating Jutta Leerdam by 0.66 seconds and pushing defending champion Erin Jackson to fifth.
Kok's victory denied Leerdam a chance to win both the 500 and 1,000 at the same Olympics after Leerdam had earlier won the 1,000 in the Games.
Miho Takagi of Japan took bronze in 37.27, marking her second bronze of these Winter Games and her ninth career Olympic medal.
Erin Jackson finished fifth in 37.32, four years after her 500 triumph that made her the first Black woman to win an individual Winter Olympic gold.
In men's team pursuit quarterfinals, Italy clocked 3:38.40 and the U.S. 3:39.37, with both advancing as the two fastest times; Italy will meet the Netherlands and the U.S. will face China in Tuesday's semifinals.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources present this coverage neutrally: straightforward factual reporting of results, times and medal counts, with brief human-detail descriptions (Kok ‘threw her arms overhead’, Leerdam’s ‘big exhale’) that are sourced content rather than editorial judgment. The pieces prioritize outcomes, records and context without selective emphasis or partisan language.
Sources (5)
FAQ
Femke Kok finished 6th in the women's 500m at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics with a time of 37.39 seconds.
She won the 500m World Title in 2023, 2024, and 2025, and broke the 500m world record with 36.09s in Salt Lake City during the 2025-2026 World Cup season.
Jutta Leerdam finished second, 0.66 seconds behind Kok, and Miho Takagi of Japan took bronze in 37.27 seconds.
Erin Jackson won gold in the women's 500m at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, becoming the first Black woman to win an individual Winter Olympic gold, and finished fifth in 37.32 seconds at the 2026 Games.
History
This story does not have any previous versions.