When her coach Gerard van Velde suggested riding the 1500 meters as a training stimulus, Femke Kok had to swallow. After all, she had only driven that distance twice in the last six years. Simply because she doesn’t see the skating mile as her specialty. But okay, Kok thought: I ride it once, then I had the worst this season … “Actually, I was even completely done with the 1500 meters,” she smiles. “The last times I had skated this distance, it went so badly. My personal record was even from my junior time (1.58.10, ed.).”
Magistrale Femke Kok (24) runs unexpected track record in Thialf
Yet there was one man who always believed that Kok could also control this distance. “When I came to the team years ago, Gerard said to me,” Femke, you’re going to drive a good 1500 meters. ” I remember that I leaned it away a bit at the time. I didn’t see it happening so quickly. “
Kok lays ear with ‘real’ specialists
Anyway, Saturday night it was that time. Because Kok had not driven 1500 meters for so long, she laid her ear to the ‘real’ specialists. Ireen Wüst, her ex-teammate and triple Olympic champion in the 1500 meters, still had some tips for her. With those instructions in mind, she arrived in Thialf on Saturday. Kok starts to laugh: ,, I wanted to start the warm-up, but then I realized that I actually didn’t know exactly how to prepare for a 1500 meters. For the 500 and 1000 meters I do quite an intensive warm-up, but that didn’t seem so wise to me. “
Fortunately there was Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong. Kok’s teammate won the World Cup silver last season on the skating mile and until Saturday she was a track record holder in Thialf at this distance. “Antoinette told what she always did as a warm-up, so I just fought a little.” Once on the ice, everything almost came together.
Surprise at Kok and everyone present in Thialf
For the other people present in Thialf, the surprise was just as great as with the Friezin itself. That chef is capable of special things, that is no longer a secret. But even the people closest to her did not see this coming. ,, My parents couldn’t believe it either. I suddenly heard my mother say it was a job record. I just thought: how then? I didn’t even know what the track record was behind the comma. “
That turned out to be 1.52.95 since 2022. ,, I knew it was Antoinette, but had no further idea. It does indicate that I was not working on that at all. I wanted to ride a personal record, but I hadn’t looked beyond that. I noticed along the way that my speed came easily, but during the last round I just broke. “
Phone cook red hot
Van Velde also had to recover from the performance of his pupil. ,, At first he was speechless for a moment and then he soon thought back to what he had told me a few years earlier. What exactly he said? “I said it. I knew you could do this. “
From that moment on Kok’s phone was red -hot. “Ireen called me immediately and said,” What did you do? ” I actually didn’t know what to answer. I really had no idea. “
Jordan Stolz sends Femke Kok a message
She also soon received a message from Rijpma-De Jong. Kok: ,, She told me she thought it was very clever. I sent back that I almost felt a bit guilty. Taking over a teammate’s record feels a bit double. ” However, Rijpma-De Jong did not want to know anything.
Kok also received a message from the other side of the world. The American skating phenomenon Jordan Stolz was at lightning speed aware of the impressive time of Kok. ,, Really special that even Jordan made something heard. A long time ago I told him that I might want to train a little more in 1500 meters. He sent that he thinks it’s time for that now, haha. “
Surprise day for Femke Kok
On Sunday, Kok had a perfect day to celebrate her track record. It was her birthday that day. “Because I turned 25, my girlfriends had organized a surprise day. We went to have ceramics and then have a nice lunch. In the evening I went out for dinner with my family. An excellent timing, right? We had twice to celebrate.”
Are we going to see Kok in February during the Olympic Games also shine on the skating mile? “I will talk to Gerard about it in the coming period, but this season my focus will stay mainly on the 500 and 1000 meters. I secretly think that distances is the best, but of course this has made me think.”