Marijke Groenewoud Wins Gold, Netherlands' 10th at Winter Olympics

Groenewoud secures Netherlands' best winter olympics finish

Netherlands breaks Winter Olympics record with 10 gold medals. Marijke Groenewoud wins mass start gold, Netherlands' 10th at Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

Belgium's Sandrine Tas made a bold move with five laps to go, pulling Switzerland's Kaitlyn McGregor with her...

Marijke Groenewoud secured the Netherlands' 10th gold medal, making it their best-ever Winter Games performance. She won the women's mass start event, beating Canada's Ivanie Blondin and the US's Mia Manganello. This victory marked Groenewoud's first Olympic gold medal, with her previous best being a silver in the team pursuit.

The Netherlands had already broken their previous record of 8 gold medals after Jorrit Bergsma's win in the men's mass start earlier that day. Bergsma, 40, showed incredible form, securing his second Olympic gold at the Milano Cortina Games.

The women's mass start final got intense from the start, featuring top skaters like Marijke Groenewoud, Francisca Lollobrigida, Ivanie Blondin, Valerie Maltais, and Mia Manganello. Maltais had an early setback, falling and losing ground, which drained her energy in this strategic event.

🥇 Marijke GROENEWOUD [NED] speeds to #Gold in the speed skating women's mass start. 💪

It's her first-ever Olympic gold, and second Olympic medal at #MilanoCortina2026 following a silver in the women's team pursuit.@ISU_Speed | @TeamNLtweets | #MilanoCortina2026 | #MedalAlert… pic.twitter.com/tshET4wsLZ

— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) February 21, 2026

Belgium's Sandrine Tas made a bold move with five laps to go, pulling Switzerland's Kaitlyn McGregor with her, but dropped off after securing sprint points. This left the door open for Marijke Groenewoud to take control.

The Dutch ace seized the opportunity, launching the final sprint with a lap to go, and held off Ivanie Blondin and Mia Maganello to claim gold. This victory marked the Netherlands' 10th gold medal at the Milan-Cortina Games, their most successful Winter Olympics ever.