Tim Prins secured a silver medal in the 1,000 meters at the European Speed Skating Championships in Tomaszów, falling short of a gold that went to Poland’s Damian Zurek. In the team pursuit event, the Dutch team claimed silver behind Italy.
NOS, Netherlands
Tim Prins experienced disappointment after narrowly missing qualification for the Olympic Games, an outcome he could not overcome with a European title on the 1,000-meter distance. At the European Championships in Tomaszów, the Dutch skater took silver behind Polish speed skater Damian Zurek. Prins acknowledged his expectations had been higher but said the result was understandable given the circumstances. He missed Olympic qualification by a mere five-thousandths of a second in the 1,000 meters. Although his 1,500 meters time was sufficiently fast to qualify in principle, the Dutch skating federation later selected Marcel Bosker, who is part of the Nordic team pursuit squad for Milan, over him.
The Dutch team pursuit squad composed of Wisse Slendebroek, Louis Hollaar, and Kars Jansman earned a surprising silver medal at the same championships behind the dominant Italian team. None of the three skaters who competed in Tomaszów are slated to compete at the Olympics in the team pursuit. This trio had never raced together in this event before and only trained three times prior to the championships. The Dutch Olympic team, consisting of Chris Huizinga, Marcel Bosker, and Stijn van de Bunt, skipped the European Championships and only had a brief twenty-minute training session the Friday before at Thialf. Dutch coach Sven Kramer explained that the Olympic team needed those training hours and aimed to protect them from excess media pressure.
Despite the setback at the Olympic qualifying tournament, Prins chose to compete at the European Championships. He showed strong form in Tomaszów but could not match the pace of the 26-year-old Zurek, who has been in top form all season. Zurek timing at 1:08.55 came close to the track record held by Jordan Stolz (1:08.42), with Prins finishing at 1:09.35. Principally, the race was difficult for Prins as he felt he lacked energy and had to rely on determination to complete the race.
In the team pursuit, the Dutch squad posted a time of 3:45.66 but were outpaced by the well-established Italian team, which clocked 3:40.96. Italy’s team has been training together for years and is considered a top contender for the upcoming Olympic Games. Norway, without their top skater Sander Eitrem, still managed to earn the bronze medal with a time of 3:47.15, featuring world 1,500-meter champion Peder Kongshaug.
