Skater Pulls Off Unprecedented Olympic Feat

Speedskater Ireen Wust of the Netherlands has won individual golds at 5 different Olympics
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 7, 2022 6:38 AM CST
No Olympian Has Ever Done What She Has
Ireen Wust of the Netherlands competes against Ivanie Blondin of Canada in the women's speedskating 1,500-meter race at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.   (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

She won her first individual gold medal back in 2006. Incredibly, speedskater Ireen Wust of the Netherlands collected her fifth such medal at the Beijing Games on Monday, 16 years later. As a result, the 35-year-old is now the only Olympian to have won five individual golds at five different Games, reports the New York Times. It is her sixth career gold medal and her 12th medal of any kind, qualifying her for the title as the "most successful Olympic speedskater in history," per Reuters. Only two other winter Olympians of any kind have won more medals.

"I can't describe it yet. It's insane, actually," Wust said. "A lot of emotions—especially the good ones." Wust on Monday won the 1,500-meter race in, yes, an Olympic record time of 1:53.28. (Japan’s Miho Takagi was second, followed by Antoinette de Jong of the Netherlands.) One more record that fell: Wust is now the oldest gold medalist in speedskating. She won't break her own record, however: Wust says that these will be her last Olympics. (More 2022 Beijing Olympics stories.)

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