Feb 16 (Japan Times) - Japan’s Olympic title defense in the women’s speedskating team pursuit ended in heartbreak Tuesday at the Beijing Games after Nana Takagi fell on the last bend of the final to hand the gold medal to Canada.
The three-woman team of Ayano Sato, Miho Takagi and her older sister Nana came into the final at the National Speed Skating Oval looking to repeat as Olympic champions after winning four years ago in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
They were on course for gold after leading at every split, but with Canada pushing to close the gap, disaster struck with the finish line in sight when the elder Takagi lost her footing coming around the last bend and careened into the wall.
The Canadian team of Ivanie Blondin, Valerie Maltais and Isabelle Weidemann finished in an Olympic record time of 2 minutes, 53.44 seconds.
The final Japanese skater eventually crossed the line 11.03 seconds later.
