Japan team captain Miho Takagi breathed a sigh of relief as she concluded her Beijing Games speed skating campaign with a gold medal while just managing to stay healthy through her packed schedule of seven races in 13 days.
Though her only gold medal of these games came in an individual event, Takagi, now the most decorated Japanese female Olympian ever with seven medals in total, credited her coaches and teammates for her feat in the women's 1,000 meters on Thursday.
"First and foremost I'm glad I was able to push all the way through," she said in her winner's press conference on Friday.
"Capping (my run here) with a gold medal, we were able to prove our strength as a team. I feel strongly that I couldn't have done this alone. It was a gold medal we won together," she said.
The 27-year-old won a medal in all but one of the five events she competed in. She won silvers in the 500 and 1,500, and a third silver in the team pursuit when a final bend crash by her sister almost certainly cost the team gold. She finished sixth in her opening event, the women's 3,000.
Takagi said she "suffered" more than she did at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, where she won one medal of each type, and she is feeling a mix of pride about her four-medal effort and regret over coming up short in her pet 1,500 event.
"I haven't been able to shake my regrets about not being able to skate the way I wanted to in the 1,500 meters. I was feeling lost in the early stages (of the games) and that was hard."
But she overcame those early jitters to win a surprise silver in her next race, the 500 meters, behind the trailblazing Erin Jackson, the U.S. racer who became the first black female to win an individual speed skating gold medal at the Winter Olympics.
When asked if she feels that she has proven herself a versatile skater in sprint, middle- and long-distance races, Takagi said she still has some way to go.
"There is still a gap between my level and that of the world's best skaters in the 3,000 so I wouldn't quite say that I'm an all-rounder. What I become is not really for me to decide, but something that will happen if it's meant to be," she said.
Takagi had a noticeable cough throughout the games, often showing up during her post-race media interviews. On Thursday, she said she barely survived.
But a day later, while still in Beijing, she said her mind is already on Hamar, Norway, where the world speed skating championships will be held starting March 3.
"That's my next challenge," she said.
Related coverage:
Olympics: Miho Takagi finally gets Beijing gold in women's 1,000
