Joep Wennemars has earned his third start spot for the upcoming Winter Olympics at the Staatsloterij Olympic qualification tournament held at Thialf.
NOS, published in the Netherlands, reports on the event.
Wennemars had already secured Olympic places for the 500 and 1,000 meter events prior to this qualification. At the tournament, he defeated Tijmen Snel, who finished second and also qualified for the Olympic Games. The tournament’s top favorite, Kjeld Nuis, failed to qualify after finishing fourth. This result means Nuis will not be able to defend his Olympic title in Milan. Tim Prins, who narrowly missed a spot on the 1,000 meter by just 0.005 seconds on Monday, claimed third place. It remains uncertain whether Prins will be permitted to compete in the 1,500 meter, pending potential selection for the team pursuit by the KNSB.
Nuis, aged 36, was regarded as the frontrunner during the qualification tournament. He is a two-time Olympic champion in the 1,500 meter category, having won in 2018 and 2022. Throughout the current season, Nuis had shown consistent performances in the 1,500 meters, achieving two second-place and one third-place finishes in World Cup events. His main challengers at the tournament were Prins—aiming to secure a place after missing out on the 1,000 meter—and Wennemars, who already held spots in two distances. Prins had placed second behind Nuis at the Dutch National Championships, while Wennemars took third.
The competition began with Nuis as the first major competitor on the ice for the 1,500 meters. After a false start, Nuis delivered a strong performance but found the final laps challenging, finishing with a time of 1:45.18—insufficient for victory. Prins followed and improved on this with a time of 1:44.58, which may still not guarantee Olympic qualification. The final race featured Wennemars and Snel, both surpassing the previous times. Wennemars posted a winning time of 1:43.43, which he described as a ‘dream time’. Snel finished closely behind with a 1:44.33, claiming the second position. For Snel, this result represents a significant comeback after being removed from the Olympic entry list by the KNSB four years earlier despite qualifying. This time, both athletes are confirmed to be heading to the Olympic Games.
