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FEBRUARY 2022 | 31
SPORT
Ready or not, here we come!
On the 26th of January, flight KL823, a Boeing 777 went wheels up from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport carrying the hopes of a nation to Beijing and the 24th Games of the Winter Olympiad. In the on-again / off-again world of sports in the age of pandemic, the Winter Games will hopefully serve as a beacon of light to all and bear witness to the core of the Olympic movement: Citius, Altius, Fortius. The Beijing games will be different for a number of reasons, most of which are related to Covid-19 in one way or another. The aforementioned KLM flight, for example, will be tangible reminder of the gauntlet that awaits the Dutch delegation in the Chinese capital. Having already sequested themselves under the protocols established by the Dutch Olympic Federation, the athletes will be cordoned off in the plane away from any other passengers in the hope of avoiding any repeat of the infections possibly contracted on the flights to Tokyo last year for the Summer edition of the games. The “Bubble Life” will likely continue unabated at least until they alight back into a Dutch registry aircraft for the flight back the Netherlands. While several sports will begin their competitions on February 2, the Winter Games will officially commence with the Opening Ceremony on the 4th. Leading the Dutch team in the obligatory orange uniforms and carrying the flag will by Lindsay van Zundert, a figure skater and youngest member of the team and Kjeld Nuis, the 32 year old speed skater who will compete in the 1500 meter race. As usual, the Dutch are expected to dominate the speed skating competition. The National Speed Skating Oval is the only new venue built on Beijing’s Olympic Green (the Olympic Park constructed for the 2008 Games) for the Winter Olympics. Coincidentally, the Oval, nicknamed “The Ice Ribbon”, was build on hallowed ground at least as far as the Dutch women athletes are concerned. The Dutch women’s field hockey team took the Gold Medal in the 2008 Summer Games on a pitch which occupied the same geography as the skating venue. The men’s hockey team, however, missed the podium taking fourth. The Dutch speed skating team will once again be the odds-on favorites for most of the races. They dominated the competition in South Korea during the 2018 Games taking 7 gold and a total of 16 medals in Gangneung. The team is a Tour de Force coming into Beijing razorsharp on the tail of a sometimes nerve-wracking Olympic Qualification Tournament. Seasoned veterans Sven Kramer and Irene Wüst, both taking part in their fifth Olympiad, will lead a talented team that may face more
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opposition from airborne particles than any competitor in a speed suit with skates. Coming off a stellar performance at the qualification tournament, Irene Schouten will the one to watch as she set her sights on four podiums and looks to join Wüst as well as Yvonne van Gennip and Marianne Timmer as the latest Dutch Queen of the oval ice. Femke Kok will make her Olympic debut looking to turn heads in the 500 meter sprint, one of the few events not historically one of the strongest for the Dutch. The National Speed Skating Oval is not the only venue where the Dutch are expected to have success on the ice. After hosting the volleyball tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics, the Capital Indoor Stadium will stage the figure skating and short track speed skating competitions during the Winter Olympics. The short track competition holds promise for the Dutch team. Suzanne Schulting and Sjinkie Knecht will lead a formidable delegation that will look to improve on their impressive showing in South Korea four years ago where they finished second on the Medal table just being the host nation. Competition in 2022 will come not only from the 2018 hosts but the current hosts as well as it was China finishing third in the medal standings during the last edition of the Winter Games.
preferably together with youngsters, the short film made about Akwasi’s life entitled “Black Ice” which is now on YouTube. The Winter Games will doubtless be followed closely here in the Netherlands, including sports that the Dutch are not participants in such as biathlon, curling, ice hockey and everyone’s (well almost everyone’s) favorite, ski jumping. Once again, cable TV subscribers will have some of the best coverage in the world with not only the national broadcasters of the Netherlands (NOS), but Great Britain (BBC) and Germany (ZDF) proving extensive live action. Pan-European broadcaster Eurosport will also be offering non-stop coverage and for less than 10 Euros, a month’s subscription to their app will ensure that you do not miss a moment of the action. Let the Games begin! Written by John Mahnen
The Dutch Olympic team will feature several novelties including two participants in the Alpine skiing competitions. Adriana Jelinkova and Maarten Meiners will strap on their ski and be the first Olympic downhill racers to represent the Netherlands in 70 years. Their participation will bring the total number of sports with Dutch representation to 7, besting by far the previous reocrd of 4. The Dutch team features entries in two new medal events: the ‘monobob’ or one man bobsled and a mixed relay in the short track skating competition. One of the biggest disappointments of the 2022 games has already occurred even before the Opening Ceremonies. Akwasi Frimpong is a Winter Olympic skeleton athlete. The accomplished sledder holds both Dutch and Ghanian nationalities, competing for the latter. Through a cruel twist of pandemic fate, he was unable to compete in a tournament last December in German and thereby improve his ranking to Olympic Qualification levels. Baring a miracle at the IOC and or federation level, he will miss the Olympics, nullifying his chance of becoming the first African to win a Winter Games medal. We can small solace in the fact that while we will likely not see him hurtling at death-defying speed down the ice chute in China, we can all watch,
27-01-2022 09:43
