Maybritt Vigl competed in her first Olympic race. © ANSA / TERESA SUAREZ

Alongside a star: Vigl's special Olympic debut

At 21 years old, Maybritt Vigl made her debut at the Olympic Games in Milan on Monday afternoon. She impressed with a strong performance, and the South Tyrolean athlete was also bestowed with a great honor.

February 09, 2026

From: leo

“I can hardly wait to get to the starting line. I think it will be an unforgettable race,” said the athlete from Oberinn ahead of her Olympic debut. Vigl was right. The athlete from Ritten finished 25th in the final of the top 30.

Vigl opened the women's 1.000-meter race on Monday. Alongside her was none other than Suzanne Schulting. The Dutchwoman enjoys legendary status in her home country, having won three Olympic gold medals, twelve world championships, and seventeen European championships in short track. Since November 2024, she has been trying her luck in speed skating, where she has already celebrated her first World Cup victory.

Leerdam wins gold

The strong opponent didn't play into the South Tyrolean athlete's hands, as the Dutchwoman was so fast that she slightly slowed Vigl down when she changed lanes from the outside to the inside. Her time of 1:17.151 minutes was still respectable, even though it was over a second slower than her personal best. Last November in Calgary, Canada, Vigl ran the 1.000 meters in 1:15.930. Nevertheless, the athlete from Ritten can look back on a successful Olympic debut, especially considering the track in Milan is known for being slow.

The new Olympic champion: Jutta Leerdam © APA/afp / DANIEL MUNOZ

To the delight of thousands of Dutch fans, Schulting set a provisional track record of 1.15:460 minutes. Numerous athletes subsequently tried and failed to beat this mark – until the top favorites entered the arena. Femke Kok, the second Dutch athlete in the field, shattered the Olympic record – but still only won silver.

Fellow countrywoman Jutta Leerdam was 28 hundredths of a second faster. Then she spilled the controversial athlete Tears of joy. The 27-year-old was in Milan after an interview with the Dutch broadcaster. OUR Further discussions with print journalists were declined. The podium was completed by Miho Takagi from Japan.

1.000 meters, the result: