Less than a week after the Olympic Games in Milan, the Dutch speed skating season continues this weekend with the Daikin Dutch Allround and Sprint Championships, despite many top athletes opting out ahead of next week’s World Championships in Thialf.
NOS Schaatsen, published in the Netherlands, reports on the current state of Dutch speed skating.
This weekend’s schedule features eight distances per day, with national titles and three qualifying spots for next week’s World Championships at stake. Although some of the top skaters, including Jenning de Boo, Joep Wennemars, Femke Kok, and Jutta Leerdam, have chosen to skip the event to prepare for the Worlds, the competitions remain competitive. Analyst Mark Tuitert notes that the championships offer an opportunity for those looking to prove themselves or redeem past performances after the Olympics.
The sprint tournament, in particular, holds considerable interest despite the aforementioned absences. With Leerdam ending her season and not participating in the World Sprint Championships, two spots are still available at the national sprint competition. This has created openings for skaters such as Marrit Fledderus and Angel Daleman, who both missed out on the Olympics or faced disqualification at prior events. Other contenders among the women include Isabel Grevelt, Naomi Verkerk, and Chloé Hoogendoorn. On the men’s side, Tim Prins will attempt to revive his sprint season after losing his Olympic team spot to Marcel Bosker.
Only the male sprint champion will earn a ticket for the Worlds, as other spots were assigned to skaters who are not competing here. Notably, Kjeld Nuis declined to participate, citing the close timing after the Olympics and choosing to end his season.
In the allround competition, all three women’s places for the World Championships were allocated before the event, based on strong performances from Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong, Joy Beune, and Marijke Groenewoud. Groenewoud is the only one competing at the national allround championships, facing challengers like Merel Conijn and Sanne in ‘t Hof. For the men, Olympic participants Stijn van de Bunt and Chris Huizinga were already confirmed for the Worlds and did not compete at the nationals. The men’s allround championship will see competition from skaters like Jorrit Bergsma, who is skating his first national allround tournament since 2015, Marcel Bosker, and Beau Snellink. Analyst Tuitert remarks that with the Olympics concluded, the focus now shifts towards upcoming seasons and proving oneself at these championships.
