Brittany Bowe fell agonizingly short of a podium finish at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics 2026. The world record holder finished fourth in the 1000m speed skating event held at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium in Milan, one of the two cities hosting the quadrennial event alongside Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Bowe is a two-time Olympic medalist who set the world speedskating record in 2019. This is her final Olympics as a speed skater.
Brittany Bowe’s Performance At Milano Cortina Winter Olympics 2026
Bowe, alongside defending Olympic champion in the 500m event Erin Jackson, represented Team USA in the women’s 1000m speed skating event. The two skaters aimed for the top honors, and Bowe had previously won a bronze medal in the 2022 edition held in Beijing.
Both skaters started well but couldn’t sustain the momentum. Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands created a new Olympic record of 1:12.31 to clinch the gold medal, followed by Femke Kok, who clocked 1 minute, 12.59 seconds to win the silver medal.
There was a fierce competition between Bowe and Japanese skater Miho Takagi, who had won the gold medal in the same event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
However, Takagi edged out Bowe by just 0.6 seconds to win the bronze medal, clocking 1:13.95. On the other hand, Erin Jackson clocked 1:15.00 minutes to finish in the sixth position.
However, despite the loss, the story is not yet over for either Bowe or Jackson. Jackson will now aim to finish high in the 500m event on February 15. She will be accompanied by Sarah Warren, who won a silver medal in the team sprint event at the 2024 World Single Distances Championships.
On the other hand, Bowe will get two more shots at the Olympic podium with the women’s team pursuit event and the women’s 1500m events, respectively. The preliminary round for the women’s team pursuit (in which Bowe won her first Olympic medal at the 2018 edition) will be held on February 14, followed by the final round on February 17.
Bowe will be accompanied by Giorgia Birkeland, Greta Myers, and Mia Manganello.
On the other hand, in the women’s 1500m event, Bowe will be representing Team USA alongside Greta Myers, who is competing in the mass start and recently finished 20th in the women’s 3000 m.
The women’s 1500m speed skating event will be held on February 20, only days before the closing ceremony of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, which shall be held on February 22.
