De Boo expressed satisfaction with his performance despite narrowly missing gold in a recent race against Stolz in Milan, acknowledging the high level of competition and his need for further improvement.
Schaatsen.nl, published in the Netherlands, reported on De Boo’s reflections following the race.
De Boo acknowledged that his start time of 9.6 seconds could have been slightly faster; however, his finishing time of 33.88 seconds was notably impressive. He understood that to have a chance at gold, he would need to complete the race in the low 33-second range, though he did not expect Stolz to achieve a time of 33.77 seconds. De Boo mentioned that he realized Stolz’s advantage immediately after exiting the inner bend, recalling advice from Gerard that to beat Jordan, one must come out of the last bend ahead due to Jordan’s ability to carry speed from the outside bend.
He noted that his performance in the final bend was exceptional, describing the inner bend as the best he has ever skated—“phenomenal,” he said. Considering the high level of competition, De Boo concluded that silver was the best possible result for the day.
Both athletes have pushed each other to high performances twice in the same week in Milan. De Boo regards Jordan as his toughest competitor and the one he feels most nervous about, but that also motivates him to skate faster. He expressed gratitude for the opportunity to race against Jordan twice in the event, though he admitted that he has now lost this specific rivalry slightly more often. Looking ahead, De Boo is committed to training harder and delivering better races, confident that he can defeat Jordan if he maintains his current approach.
