TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese speed skater Chen Ying-chu (陳映竹) set a national Winter Olympic best on Sunday at the Milano Cortina Games, finishing the women’s 500-meter race in 37.914 seconds.
Making her Olympic debut, she tied for 11th place alongside Poland’s Andzelika Wojcik. The performance surpassed the previous Taiwanese best of 22nd place, set by Huang Yu-ting (黃郁婷) at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics, according to LTN Sports.
Chen, who previously won six medals in roller skating world championships, switched to speed skating in 2023, determined to realize her Olympic ambition. She has spent the past years training mostly abroad on her own, according to Ettoday Sports.
Her efforts led to a bronze in the 100 m at the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin and a silver in the 500 m at the Speed Skating World Cup in Calgary in November, securing her spot at the Olympics.
Chen described the pre-race nerves as unlike anything she had experienced in roller skating. She said a minor slip at the start was her only regret and noted that she executed the final curve better than ever, though in a 500-m race, every fraction of a second matters.
The gold medal was claimed by Dutch skater Femke Kok, who set a new Games record at 36.49 seconds. Silver went to Dutch skater Jutta Leerdam, who finished in 37.15 seconds.
Chen expressed pride in reaching this milestone. She also hopes her journey will inspire other Taiwanese athletes to pursue their Olympic ambitions.
