Beijing Winter Games standout Miho Takagi took bronze in the women's 1,000-meter race Sunday at the speed skating World Cup season opener in Stavanger, Norway, after being outpaced by Olympic rival Jutta Leerdam.A day after winning gold in the 1,500, reigning Olympic 1,000 champion Takagi crossed the line 0.80 second off the pace as she battled Dutch sprinter Leerdam in the penultimate pairing.Leerdam, who won silver over the distance at February's Beijing Games, topped the podium in 1 minute, 15.61 seconds, finishing 0.21 ahead of South Korean silver medalist Kim Min Sun.Chasing from the s…READ FULL ARTICLE
