CALGARY, Canada (Kyodo) -- Miho Takagi won her 34th speed skating World Cup individual gold medal Friday, tying Hiroyasu Shimizu and Nao Kodaira for the most by a Japanese in distances contested at Winter Olympics.

The 30-year-old won the women's 1,000 meters at Calgary's Olympic Oval in the season's third meet, as the Beijing Olympics 1,000 gold medalist clocked 1 minute, 13.10 seconds.

Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands was 0.36 behind in second and Han Mei of China was a further 0.12 back in third.

"I'm genuinely proud to be able to reach this record at my age," Takagi said. "But there are areas I'm not doing well. This is not my goal."

While all of Shimizu's 34 World Cup golds and 28 of Kodaira's were over 500 meters, with the other six in the 1,000, Takagi has taken a different path as an all-rounder.

Most of her wins, 23, came in the 1,500, a distance previously dominated by overseas skaters, with 10 in the 1,000 and one in the 3,000, making her a rarity in an era when skaters increasingly choose to specialize in a narrower range of distances.

Takagi, who won her first World Cup individual gold in December 2016, has also been leading Japan to the top of the podium in team pursuit, further demonstrating her versatility.

"It's really something that she produces her records despite her congested schedule," said Jun Yuda, the Japan Skating Federation's head of development. "She's extraordinarily strong and a cut above the rest."