The Belgian Bullets are facing a decisive moment: in Winterberg they get their last chance to grab a ticket for the Winter Games. Three weeks before the Games, the Belgian women still have to get past France and Jamaica in the world ranking to reach Beijing.
In concrete terms, they have to achieve a 7th place in the decisive race in Winterberg. That would mean they would do 22 points better than their lowest result of this season.
7th out of 9 participants, that sounds like an achievable assignment. “It should be child’s play,” says mate An Vannieuwenhuyse. “Sunday’s game in Sankt Moritz would be more like a lottery. If we don’t get 7th place in Winterberg, we don’t deserve to be at the Games.”
“If everything goes normally, it shouldn’t be a problem. But I don’t want to sell the bear’s skin before it’s shot. But we’re going for a win or a medal in Winterberg. We want to hear the national anthem.”
If things go wrong for An Vannieuwenhuyse and brake star Sara Aerts, it could well be the end of their career. “That realization is also there,” says Vannieuwenhuyse. “If it doesn’t go well, I’ll draw a line under it. We have to be honest about that. But we’re going for a win and see where it takes us.”
