The women's team pursuit of Speed Skating 2018 during the 2018 Winter Olympics was held on 19-21 February 2018 in the Gangneung Oval. With 8 teams competing, the event was won by the team from Japan, with Netherlands taking the silver medal and United States taking bronze.
Format[]
This competition exists out of three knock-out rounds. The time in the quarterfinals determines the placement in the (semi-)finals, after which head-to-head races are held. All teams start with three riders, and the time of the last speed skater counts towards the placement. The winners of the semifinals advance to the final, while the losers advance to the B final. The winner of the final wins Olympic gold.
Preview[]
Eight teams qualified for the event, and the team of Japan certainly looked the strongest on paper, as the leader in the World Cup and the holders of the current world record, set only 2 months before the Olympic Games. The challenge for the Japanese team would probably come from the Netherlands, which had finished second in every World Cup they participated in, and were the defending Olympic champions and reigning world champions. Behind the two teams, Germany had shown good results in the World Cup and finished fourth at the world championships, but with only 8 teams, any team could take their chances, including China, Canada, the United States, Poland, and South Korea.
Karolina Bosiek was the youngest competitor in the field, as she was two years younger than Park Ji-woo and Han Mei, with all three making their Olympic debuts. The two were than another two years younger than Ayano Sato, who would also be making her Olympic debut at the age of 21. On the other end of the scale, Claudia Pechstein was the most experienced speed skater in the field, making her seventh Olympic appearance at the age of 45, being eight years older than Katarzyna Bachleda-Curus, who would compete at her fifth Olympic Games, and twelve years older than her own team mate Gabriele Hirschbichler, who would compete at the Olympic Games for the second time. Behind Bachleda-Curus, Noh Seon-yeong and Ireen Wust made their fourth Olympic appearance in Pyeongchang.
Current Records[]
| Record | Date | Nat. | Name | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR | 8 December 2017 | 
|
Ayano Sato | 2:50.87 |
| Miho Takagi | ||||
| Nana Takagi | ||||
| OR | 22 February 2014 | 
|
Marrit Leenstra | 2:58.05 |
| Jorien ter Mors | ||||
| Ireen Wust | ||||
| TR | 10 February 2017 |
|
Antoinette de Jong | 2:55.85 |
| Marrit Leenstra | ||||
| Ireen Wust |
Summary[]
Quarterfinals[]
The quarterfinals were raced to determine the placement and division for the semifinals (and finals), with the fastest four times going through to the semifinals.
The first quarterfinal saw the Dutch team of Antoinette de Jong, Marrit Leenstra, and Ireen Wust racing against the home team with Kim Bo-reum, Noh Seon-yeong, and Park Ji Woo. The Netherlands skated in the same formation as when they set the track record the previous year, and this resulted in a new track and Olympic record. The inexperienced Korean team was far behind, almost 8 seconds between them.
The other favorite team Japan appeared with Ayano Sato, Miho Takagi, and Nana Takagi - the same formation that skated to the world record in December. They were set against the potential outsiders China, with Han Mei, Hao Jiachen, and Li Dan. China had a faster start, and stayed in front until about halfway, when Japan took over with consistent lap times, finishing just behind the Netherlands.
The third quarterfinal was Roxanne Dufter, Gabriele Hirschbichler, and Claudia Pechstein as Germany against Ivanie Blondin, Josie Morrison, and Isabelle Weidemann as Canada. The Canadian team was able to win after Germany lost on average a second per lap in the final stages, but the difference between Japan and Canada was another 3 seconds, a very big gap. Germany finished behind China, and would not qualify for the semifinals.
The last quarterfinal between Poland (Katarzyna Bachleda-Curus, Natalie Czerwonka, and Luiza Zlotkowska) and the United States (Heather Bergsma, Brittany Bowe, and Mia Manganello) was again one with no real favorites for the gold medal, but the United States skated very strong, finishing behind the Netherlands, Japan, and Canada. The Polish team showed the most decline and was not able to set a good time, as the eighth time of the quarterfinals.
| Quarterfinals Results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | Time | |||
| 1 | Netherlands |
2:55.61 | OR | ||
| 2 | Japan |
2:56.09 | |||
| 3 |  Canada |
2:59.02 | |||
| 4 |  United States |
2:59.75 | |||
| 5 |  China |
3:00.01 | |||
| 6 |  Germany |
3:02.65 | |||
| 7 |  South Korea |
3:03.76 | |||
| 8 |  Poland |
3:04.80 | |||
Semifinals[]
Netherlands vs United States[]
Both teams appeared with a different lineup than in the quarterfinals, with Brittany Bowe being substituted with Carlijn Schoutens, and Marrit Leenstra being replaced by Lotte van Beek. The Dutch team once again showed why they were among the main medal conders, leading from start to finish, and finishing 7 seconds ahead of their opponents, despite being quite a bit slower than in the quarterfinals.
Japan vs Canada[]
Japan had switched out Atano Sato with Ayaka Kikuchi, while Canada skated with the same formation as a few days prior. With the sisters Kodaira taking the helm, the Japanese team was able to make their difference at the start, already leading with almost a second after a single lap. Although the Canadians kept quite even tread, they were not able to catch up on the strong Japanese, ultimate losing another 2 seconds on their opponents.
| Semifinals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Result | |||
| Netherlands |
3:00.41 | 3:07.28 | United States
| |
| Japan |
2:58.94 | 3:01.84 | Canada
| |
Finals[]
South Korea vs Poland[]
The two teams with the slowest times in the quarterfinals, South Korea and Poland, would show off in the D final. Poland swapped Katarzyna Bachleda-Curus for Karolina Bosiek, while South Korea went with the same formation as in the quarterfinals. Contrary to a disastrous race for the Polish team like in the quarterfinals, they made their mark at the start, taking a 5-second lead halfway throughout the race. The Korean home team came slightly back, but was not able to bounce back fully, still leaving 4 seconds at the finish.
| D Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Result | |||
| South Korea |
3:07.30 | 3:03.11 | Poland
| |
China vs Germany[]
Germany stayed with the same lineup as in the quarterfinals, while China switched out Han Mei for Liu Jing. After the Chinese team took a small lead at the start, and despite the first two laps being pretty even, the Germans lost valuable time in the laps after it, losing over 5 seconds. Similar to the D final, a part of this was caught up, but not enough to make a substantial difference.
| C Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Result | |||
| China |
3:00.04 | 3:04.67 | Germany
| |
Canada vs United States[]
The B final would be the closest matchup of the entire tournament. Despite the United States, which once again showed up with Bowe, taking a small lead at the start, extended to almost 4 seconds with 3 laps to go, the Canadians were able to catch up, making a very exciting finish. With only a single lap to go, this lead of the United States was still well over 2 seconds, but the American team was barely able to maintain their speed, ultimately barely winning with less than half a second, winning their first speed skating medal in eight years.
| B Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Result | |||
| Canada |
2:59.72 | 2:59.27 | United States
| |
Netherlands vs Japan[]
The final would see its predicted matchup, with the Netherlands and Japan. The Netherlands had set a new Olympic record a few days prior, but the Japanese team had been able to outperform themselves when it was most important. The Japanese team took the lead at the start, but every lap was different, with the Netherlands and Japan alternating. The difference here was made a single lap before the finish, when the difference between the two teams was 0.05 seconds. Japan was able to accelerate, taking a lead of half a second, and the Dutch were not able to respond.
| Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Result | |||
| Netherlands |
2:55.48 | OR | 2:53.89 | Japan
|
Results[]
Japan won the gold medal, and Miho Takagi even took her third Olympic medal of Pyeongchang 2018, after winning the silver medal in the 1500 metres and the bronze medal in the 1000 metres. The remaining team members of the Japanese team all took their first Olympic medal. In regards to the Dutch team that took silver, three of the four members took their second medal in the team pursuit after 2014, when they won gold. Marrit Leenstra won her third medal, after winning bronze in the 1500 metres, while Antoinette de Jong took her second Olympic medal after winning bronze in the 3000 metres. Ireen Wust became the most decorated speed skater in Olympic history winning her gold medal. The members of the American team that won bronze all won their first Olympic medal, after the last speed skating medals for the United States were won in 2010.
| Result | Nation |
|---|---|
 |
Japan
|
 |
Netherlands
|
 |
United States
|
| 4 | Canada
|
| 5 | China
|
| 6 | Germany
|
| 7 | Poland
|
| 8 | South Korea
|
| 2018 Winter Olympic Games | |
|---|---|
| Speed Skating 2018 | |
| ← 2014 | 2022 → |
| Men | Women |
| 500 m | 500 m |
| 1000 m | 1000 m |
| 1500 m | 1500 m |
| 5000 m | 3000 m |
| 10000 m | 5000 m |
| Mass start | Mass start |
| Team pursuit | Team pursuit |