With six gold, five silver and two bronze medals, Ireen Wüst (40) is the most successful Dutch Olympian of all time. The former top skater from Goirle hopes to party a lot again in 2028 during the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, but then as chef de mission of TeamNL. But what does such a chef actually do? “It’s more than just sitting in the stands as a mascot and cheering,” Wüst laughs.
Another 759 days until the 2028 Olympic Games start in Los Angeles. Ireen Wüst still has more than two years to prepare as best as possible for the tournament in which she participated five times as a skater. “It’s still a long way off, but it’s not yet,” she says. “The athletes are busy with their route to the Games. It gives me time to get to know the athletes, trainers and the sports well.”
According to Wüst, it doesn’t matter that she has a background as a winter sports star. “Whether you do swimming, judo, canoeing or skating, we speak the same language. At the top you encounter similar obstacles, pitfalls and challenges.”
The first contact with NOC*NSF top sports director André Cats took place around September 2025. Both knew each other when Wüst was still a top athlete, but also from the following years when she worked at the umbrella organization as an expert on performance behavior and mental health within the Top Sports department.
Wüst from Brabant, who has lived in Friesland for years, calls it honorable that she can succeed fellow provincial Pieter van den Hoogenband. “And as the first woman, it was about time. Although I was not chosen for that reason, but because I have the qualities that this role requires.”
Her duties before and during the Games are varied. “Many people know the chef de mission as the man who cheers when things go well and puts an arm around the shoulder when things go less well,” says Wüst. “There is much more to it. As a chef, I want to work with a team to ensure that the athletes are as well prepared as possible. During the Games they have to be the best version of themselves. But I also look at the entire process, such as where we can best sit in America.”
“Hopefully just that push in the right direction.”
Wüst wants to be a source of support and be known as an approachable chef. “That when I have a coffee in the Olympic village, athletes pull my jacket if they are worried about something. As an expert by experience, I can hopefully give them that push in the right direction. I also ask what they need.”
As a skater, Goirlese was physically strong, but also mentally. The competition tension will now be a completely different tension. “After the starting shot, the tension always disappeared for me. I think in a role as a chef I sit with my buttocks clenched all the time, you want everything to go as well as possible. But besides the tension, I will certainly enjoy it.”
Figureheads
In addition to Wüst, Jetze Plat was presented as chef de mission for the Summer Paralympics. Both intend to go to the 2030 Winter Games in France. Top sports director André Cats: “We have chosen two figureheads who combine sporting excellence, social involvement and contemporary leadership. They have international prestige and a strong connection with the current generation of athletes.”
“The chef is not only the face of TeamNL, but also establishes connections with athletes and staff, promotes cohesion in the team and represents TeamNL towards international institutions such as the IOC and IPC, media, fans and partners.”
