Nao Kodaira competes in the women's 1,000 meters at the M-Wave ice arena in Nagano, central Japan, on Dec. 30, 2021, at speed skating qualifying trials for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. (Kyodo)

       NAGANO, Japan (Kyodo) -- Japanese speed skater Nao Kodaira on Thursday secured qualification in the women's 1,000 meters for February's Beijing Winter Games, where she will also defend her Olympic 500 crown.

       Kodaira clocked 1 minute, 14.82 seconds on her way to victory in the 1,000 at Japan's Olympic trials at the M-Wave ice arena. She won silver in the race at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

       The 35-year-old had already booked her ticket to Beijing in the 500 and did not compete over the distance here.

       "I was able to prepare for the 1,000," she said. "In the second half of the race, I was able to relax without losing any speed."

       Miho Takagi, the 1,000 bronze medalist in Pyeongchang, had already qualified for the Beijing Games through her World Cup results from this season.

       Ryota Kojima won the men's 1,000 in 1:08.35 to earn his spot in Beijing.

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