The 2018 champion and the Olympic record holder, Jorien ter Mors, retired from competitions.

Bowe was leading the 2021–22 ISU Speed Skating World Cup at the 1000 m distance with four races completed before the Olympics, followed by Kodaira and Takagi.

Takagi skated the season best time, 1:11.83 in Salt Lake City on 4 December 2021.

In pair 13, Takagi set the new Olympic record with 1:13.19, and Angelina Golikova had provisionally third time, shifting de Jong off the podium.

A country could only earn the maximum three spots through the World Cup rankings.