Misaki Oshigiri beat Dutch rival Carien Kleibeuker in a direct duel to win the gold medal in the women’s mass start at the World Cup speed skating competition on Sunday.
The 23-year-old Oshigiri clocked 8 minutes, 22.80 seconds for her first-ever World Cup victory in an individual event, while Kleibeuker settled for second in 8:23.23 on the final day of the three-day competition.
"We worked well together," Oshigiri said in reference to Miho Takagi, whose subtle blocking in the chasing pack sparked the duel.
"I didn't think I could pull away from the pack and create a gap that big. It was really close in the end. I'm glad I won," she said.
Takagi finished in sixth place with a time of 8:31.22.