The outcome of the relay race for the Dutch men, who are the world champions in the discipline, was typical of the short track speed skating tournament. After the unsuccessful opening of the Olympic tournament on the mixed relay due to a fall by Suzanne Schulting, the men’s individual distances (1,500, 1,000 and 500 meters) were not successful. Only debutant Sven Roes reached a B-final individually, for the experienced Sjinkie Knegt and Itzhak de Laat there were mainly setbacks.
Not the old one yet
Sjinkie Knegt, winner of Olympic medals in 2014 and 2018, was not quite the old one in China after his fire accident in January 2019 in which he suffered serious injuries. Knegt came from afar, accomplished a feat to get back to the top, and was overjoyed to be back in Beijing. Things were a little less positive on the ice last week. With the drama of the redemption as the final piece.
“We would have liked to have been in the final of the relay here. It also went well. We often knocked people on the line in the past, now we are being knocked on the line,” said 32-year-old Frisian disappointed.
The late man of the finish
It was agreed in advance that Itzhak de Laat would take care of the finish for the Orange Quartet. The Orange was in second place until two laps before the end. De Laat: “The last two laps are so difficult. I couldn’t get any speed anymore. That Simjon Jelistratov passed with so much speed”, he said, after a huge cry.
