Marcel Bosker, the Dutch allround skating champion, has voiced his dissatisfaction after not being selected by the KNSB for next week’s World Allround Championships in Thialf.
NOS, a news outlet in the Netherlands, reports on Bosker’s frustration with the KNSB’s decision.
Following his 5,000-meter race on Saturday, Bosker stopped during his cooldown near the KNSB section and gave a sarcastic round of applause directed at the selection committee members. He later explained with a smile that the applause was intended for a friend in the audience who often takes care of his dog, emphasizing that the gesture was not to be taken too seriously.
Bosker expressed that he would have preferred to skip the recent weekend’s competition in order to be fully prepared for the World Championships. He also stated that he felt the selection process was unfair, as the KNSB did not follow their stated criteria when choosing participants. According to Bosker, the initial rules indicated that selection spots would be determined based on combined results from the 1,500-meter and 5,000-meter races at the December Dutch Championships (OKT). In this combined ranking, Bosker was the fastest skater.
However, the eventual selections of Chris Huizinga and Stijn van de Bunt were based solely on the 5,000-meter results, permitting them to skip the weekend competition. Bosker found this approach inconsistent and said it was difficult to understand since the rules appeared to have been changed last-minute. He expressed a wish to have raced directly against Huizinga and Van de Bunt, suggesting that their performances combined with other results might have influenced the final selection differently.
The KNSB’s official rules state that the selection for the World Championships considers both the results from the Dutch Championships and performances at the Olympic Games. During the Olympics, Bosker was the slowest among the three candidates on the 5,000-meter event. This likely influenced the committee’s decisions.
Bosker had focused on performing well in both distances at the championships to secure a spot, so not being selected was a disappointment. In contrast, Stam, presumably a KNSB official or involved party, responded calmly by emphasizing that the selected skaters earned their spots fairly and that the competition structure changes the nature of the event.
