Bowe With Another Top-5 Finish In PyeongChang

Brittany Bowe (Ocala, Fla.) continued her strong performance at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 with her second top-five finish, placing fourth in the women’s 1000m at the Gangneung Oval on Wednesday.

Just two days after posting the best Olympic finish of her career with a fifth place in the women’s 1500m, Bowe topped that in the 1000m. She finished with a time of 1:14.36, 0.38 seconds off the bronze-medal time.

“I’m really proud of myself for where I’ve come,” Bowe said. “I’m obviously very disappointed right in this moment, falling short of the podium. That was my best finish yet at the Olympics but that doesn’t matter if it’s not top three.”

A quick start and consistent pace kept Bowe inside of the time to beat throughout her race. The Netherlands’ Jorien Ter Mors, Bowe’s pairmate, passed Bowe in the inside lane around the final corner to post an Olympic record time of 1:13.56, which held for gold.

Bowe’s time was good for silver following her race, but it was beaten twice in the final four pairs to knock her off the podium.

“I was hopeful, but doubtful at the same time,” Bowe said. “I thought it would probably fall short but like I said a couple days ago, I left it all out there on the ice and that’s all I could do.”

Bowe’s best 400m split of the race was 27.09 seconds, and she skated her final lap in 29.48 seconds.

“I’ve never been more proud of a performance,” said Matt Kooreman, U.S. sprint team coach. “I think it’s one of the best performances she’s ever done. She just didn’t have the legs tonight.”

Skating in the final pairing, Heather Bergsma (High Point, N.C.) finished Monday’s 1000m in eighth place with a time of 1:15.15.

“It’s always difficult going last,” Bergsma said. “There were tough times before me but mentally I was prepared for that. So, I went out and I went for it.”

Bergsma’s top 400m split was in 27.17 seconds, but a 30.09-second final lap prevented her from reaching the podium.

“My start was good,” Bergsma said. “I was happy with it. Just the last lap wasn’t there.”

She placed seventh in the 1000m at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games and ninth in the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games. She also placed eighth in the 1500m on Monday.

Jerica Tandiman (Kearns, Utah) made her Olympic debut in the 1000m, finishing in 28^th place with a time of 1:18.02.

“It was amazing,” Tandiman said. “Just going to the line, I had a smile on my face and I couldn’t stop smiling. I was really excited to be there and I felt honored to be able to experience this and to have worked hard to get to that point and race on the biggest stage. It was awesome.”

Alongside Italy’s Francesca Bettrone in the third pairing, Tandiman skated her best 400m split in 28.27.

“We’re ready for some criticism here and there but we’re ready to bounce back and work through that,” Kooreman said. “We have a lot of potential yet in this Olympics.”

For results, post-race interviews and other media information, visit the US Speedskating Media Page.

Long track continues on Friday, February 16 with the women’s 5000m. Live coverage of the race will be streamed on nbcolympics.com beginning at 8 p.m. KT (6 a.m. ET).

Quotes from Brittany Bowe

• “I’m really proud of myself for where I’ve come. I’m obviously very disappointed right in this moment, falling short of the podium. That was my best finish yet at the Olympics but that doesn’t matter if it’s not top three. I’ve got another chance on Sunday to skate the best one lap that I’ve ever skated and hopefully make a statement there.”
• “I was hopeful, but doubtful at the same time. I thought it would probably fall short but like I said a couple days ago, I left it all out there on the ice and that’s all I could do.”

Quotes from Heather Bergsma

• “It’s always difficult going last. There were tough times before me but mentally I was prepared for that. So, I went out and I went for it.”
• “My start was good. I was happy with it. Just the last lap wasn’t there.”
• “This was definitely my best shot. (The 500m’s) going to be difficult.”

Quotes from Matt Kooreman

• “I’ve never been more proud of a performance. I think it’s one of the best performances (Bowe’s) ever done. She just didn’t have the legs tonight.”
• “As a coach, I couldn’t have been more excited and happy for the performance that (Bowe) put out. It always stinks when you see fourth place.”
• “There’s a lot of chance out there yet. I certainly wouldn’t count (Bergsma) out. She’s a World Champion. And my guess is that she’ll bounce back.”
• “We spent the last four years hearing about Sochi over and over. We’re ready for some criticism here and there but we’re ready to bounce back and work through that. We have a lot of potential yet in this Olympics.”

Quotes from Jerica Tandiman

• “It was amazing. Just going to the line, I had a smile on my face and I couldn’t stop smiling. I was really excited to be there and I felt honored to be able to experience this and to have worked hard to get to that point and race on the biggest stage. It was awesome.”
• “I was a little nervous. I was trying to stay focused. I was a little less nervous than I was for Olympic Trails, which was nice. I could kind of go to the line relaxed and ready to do what I could.”
• “I didn’t have as much pressure on myself which is always a good thing. I think I didn’t put so much pressure on myself so I was able to put together a decent race.”