Irene Schouten doesn’t remember much about the preparations for the three-gold race at the Winter Olympics in Beijing. During these weeks, she focused entirely on her sports goals. All impressions that did not contribute to achieving this goal were automatically thrown into the mental wastebasket.
Two years later, he returns to this track in Beijing, where he will compete in the 3,000-meter World Cup events on Sunday. Now Schouten doesn’t need the extreme focus of the Winter Games and has time to look around.
Schedule of the World Speed Skating Championships in Beijing:
“This is the job that changed my life. If I hadn’t been here two years ago, everything would have been completely different,” says Schouten. “Maybe I would have stopped already. “I’m relieved now, I was actually on a mission here then.”
Important counters
Schouten remembered almost nothing of the Olympic weeks in Beijing. But he remembers the last and decisive three hundred meters of the mass down to the last centimeter.
At that time, Schouten was behind his rival Ivanie Blondin. “At the time, 99 percent of TV viewers thought I would come second, but when I turned the corner I realized: I had done it.”
By the end of that race, he knew he had completed a trilogy. He had already won gold medals in the 3000 and 5000 meters.
Blodin came closer with every second and scored the goal about 10 meters from the goal. “After this corner I managed to accelerate again and managed to pass him in the last hundred metres. And then you know: three gold medals.”
Schouten was the greatest Dutch skater of his time. In December, he was named Dutch Athlete of the Year.
Measure the moment
World Cup matches are now expected. For Schouten, this is a good moment to take stock. Where does he stand compared to Norway’s Ragne Wiklund, who beat him in the 3000 meters at the World Championships in Thialf in March?
He wants revenge on Sunday. It won’t be easy: last week Wiklund improved the course record at 3,000 meters in Obihiro, where Schouten was missing. The Norwegian player is at the top of his form.
“I aim for victory in the three kilometers. But Wiklund is also okay now. Let’s see if I can get over the jet lag a bit and get used to it again quickly.
Schouten is looking forward to it, but he’s also tempering his expectations. “After all, we have come to the end of the year. I won the World Cup last year too, but he took the title. Now I want to compete and see how I can do against Wiklund and the others. Then I hope to be able to do everything at the World Cup. “stop.”
Source: NOS
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
