Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong 1:54.09 dove sixth hundredths of a second under Ragne Wiklund's time in the second-to-last heat of Friday's 1500m, which was concluded by three-time bronze medallist Nikola Zdrahalova and Japanese icon Miho Takagi - both couldn't break onto the podium.
Rijpma-de Jong had won two silver medals, one of which came during these Games' team pursuit, and three bronze medals during her 12-year-long Olympic career, and had last won an individual gold medal at the World Championships in 2023.
Femke Kok had an unfortunate draw after not having raced a single 1500m all season, making her the first to hit the ice in a solo heat. The absence of an opponent cost her dearly, with the 500m gold medallist recording a time of 1:54.79 - perhaps two seconds under her goal.
The Dutch Olympic Committee caused a stir after not handing reigning world champion Joy Beune a starting ticket for the 1500m at the Olympic Games, instead giving one to Marijke Groenewoud, who finished third in the Dutch Olympic qualifying tournament and finished 0.37s behind Kok in the second-to-last race before the zambonis came out.
Kok's time lasted until the tenth heat, when Valerie Maltais dove a couple of tenths of a second under it with a time of 1:54.40. The Canadian's time was improved on not much later by Norwegian ace Ragne Wiklund, whose time of 1:54.15 topped the charts with only a few heats remaining.
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