Irene Wust of the Netherlands beat off defending champion Martina Sablikova from the Czech Republic to reclaim the women's 3,000 meters speed skating title at the Sochi Olympic Winter Games here on Sunday.

Wust, who had captured the women's 3,000m gold medal at the Turin Games in 2006, clocked four minutes and 0.34 second to win the race at the Adler Arena, 1.61 seconds faster than Sablikova.

With the triumph, the 27-year-old Wust extended her gold medal winning streak at the Turin and Vancouver Games, where she was victorious in the women' s 1,500m competition, and became the first Dutch athlete to win golds at three Olympic Winter Games.

German legendary skater Claudia Pechstein, 41, came close to becoming the first speed skater to win medals at six Olympic Winter Games, but she finally finished fourth in 4:05.26, 1.79 seconds behind Olga Graf, who took home the bronze medal.