Gerard Kemkers has rarely spoken about the mistaken lane change he advised Sven Kramer to make during the 10-kilometer speed skating event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, an error that cost Kramer a gold medal.
According to NOS, the incident has remained a lasting scar for Kemkers nearly fifteen years later. In a recent conversation on NPO Radio 1’s “Langs de Lijn” program with Robbert Meeder, Kemkers opened up about the error and his extensive career, including his early days as a youth football player, the injury that ended his own skating career, and his time working at FC Groningen football club.
Kemkers admitted that at the time of the race, he was fully convinced that directing Kramer onto the other lane was the correct decision, believing the other skater had made a mistake. He only realized the error after noticing the lap times did not match. Kramer was unaware of the mistake as the race continued, and Kemkers coached on, although mentally preparing for the difficult conversation afterward. He appreciates how maturely Kramer handled the situation, which allowed him to move forward without public drama. Kemkers acknowledges that he has deliberately spoken little about this event but chose to depart from that approach in the recent interview.
Following the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Kemkers and Kramer parted ways professionally. Kemkers, who won a bronze medal as a skater in Calgary, ended his coaching career that same year and transitioned to working with football club FC Groningen. After four years there, he shifted focus to sports talent development through TalentNED, an organization he is involved with that has supported athletes such as skaters Joep Wennemars and Stijn van de Bunt, who recently qualified for the Olympic Games at the Dutch Olympic qualifying tournament.
