From afar, the Dutch king and queen were holding their breath as well.

"The nerve-wracking wait was excruciating but made the release of this historic victory extra beautiful," King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima wrote in a Facebook post. "Wust concluded her impressive career in her own way: with full focus and strong willpower."

When Takagi, skating in the final pair, came up 0.44 short, Wust leapt into the arms of her coach to begin celebrating yet another gold medal.

"Expected is not quite the word for it," she said. "But I felt really good in training. I did amazing lap times in training, so I knew I was good."

Amazingly, Wust has medaled in the 1,500m－a race that requires the speed of a sprinter and the staying power of an endurance skater－at all five of her Olympics.

She's won the gold three times, to go along with a silver and a bronze. Her other individual golds are in the 3,000m at the Turin and Sochi Games.

"Words can't describe her class," said American Brittany Bowe, who finished more than two and a half seconds behind the winner in 10th. "She is the greatest of all time, as her performance shows. Another Olympic gold medal in Olympic-record fashion. I'm honored to have competed against her for so many years, and even more so to call her a friend."

The mighty Dutch team won its second gold in three speed skating events, setting itself up for another big performance after dominating the last two Winter Games at the oval.

While some may have written her off because of her age, Wust never doubted that she had one more gold-medal performance in those strong legs of hers. "Age is just a number," she said. "It's all about how you feel. I'm not thinking about that I'm 35 and old. Never."

Still, winning another gold will not dissuade Wust from her plans to retire after the Beijing Games.

"This is it," she said. "I will leave on top."

Agencies via Xinhua