3,000 metres, Women

The Olympic gold medal in the 3000 m seemed predestined for a German skater. Based on previous results, it would be Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann. She had won the 1997 world title, and held the world record since 1990. She had also won the World Allround Championships six times between 1991 and 1997, winning the 3,000 m on each occasion. In 1992, she had won the Olympic title in this distance, losing it surprisingly in 1994 due to a fall. But Niemann’s compatriot Claudia Pechstein seemed like a serious contender. At the Berlin World Cup, she had beaten Niemann, and in December she had taken Niemann’s World Record, although in the absence of her rival.

The first skater to break the Olympic Record, dating back to 1988, was American Jennifer Rodriguez, a former inline skater with Cuban roots. Her 4:11.64 would eventually land her in 4th place. Her time was next beaten by upcoming German star, Anni Friesinger. The next pair saw Pechstein and Hunyady taking off fast. Hunyady fell behind after a few laps, but Pechstein kept up the pace until she slowed in the final two laps. She finished in 4:08.27.

Pechstein’s last laps left room for Niemann, whose splits were behind Pechstein’s until 2,200 m. But she managed to gain a second advantage in the final two laps, thereby taking her third Olympic gold medal after two titles in 1992. The German women swept the medals, as they had done in 1984, with the difference that back then, all three women had been from East Germany, while in Nagano, Friesinger was from the former West Germany.