The 1,000 meters was Ireen Wüst’s 20th Olympic competition. Experience enough, you would think. With six Olympic titles, conquered from five consecutive Games, Wüst is by far the most successful Dutch winter Olympian. Still, the 35-year-old allowed herself to be rushed in her final race as a debutant. She wanted too much and too fast, made sloppy shots and sulked as she finished sixth with 1.15.11.
‘I forgot to skate. I really wanted to use my head, then it will be running.’ If she had taken it a little more calmly, she could have improved Brittany Bowe’s bronze time (1.14.61). Then she had come to a total of 13 Olympic medals. But it’s not that simple, not even with as much experience as Wüst has. “It turns out I’m a human too, not a robot.”
She hadn’t thought for a moment that this was her last Olympic appearance. She is too much of a winner type and top athlete for that. It only dawned on her when she left the Ice Ribbon center area in Beijing as she had to recount what it had been like, her Olympic final chord, with each of the television cameras set up in the catacombs. “In the first interview I was still disappointed in the 1,000 meters,” she said. “And now the realization is slowly coming in that it was the last, and that’s crazy.”
Between the disappointments, Wüst had an eye for the woman who will experience her first Olympic Games in Beijing: Jutta Leerdam. There was a brief chat between the dying generation and the sky stormers of the future. The old Wüst gave the young Leerdam a pat on the head, a congratulation and a comforting gesture in one.
near-fall
The 23-year-old Leerdam had set himself the goal of winning gold, but had to be content with silver. It was hard to swallow, especially since she choked in a corner during her race. She nearly fell, propped herself up with one hand on the ice, but lost a lot of speed. She therefore lost at least half a second, according to her own estimate. She finished in 1.13.83.
Leerdam could not say whether she would have been able to bridge the gap with Miho Takagi, 0.64 seconds, without that imbalance. But it had become a lot more exciting without fail. ‘I just think I would have won silver. That makes me feel better.’
As is often the case, the 2020 world champion tried to emphasize the positive aspects of her race. The fact that she had gone so hard with such a huge miss. And that she had done it as the leader of the team that she set up herself, with her friend Koen Verweij. ‘I’ve had quite a route with quite a lot of pressure.’
Leerdam still has years ahead of it. If she can last as long as Wüst, she should be able to experience three more Olympic Winter Games. She looks into the future with great anticipation. “That gold will come.”
Meanwhile, Wüst is thinking about her real last race. She will ride it at the World Cup final in Heerenveen: the 1,500 meters on Saturday 12 March. There, she suspects, she will be convinced from start to finish that these are her last meters. Tears well up at the idea. ‘My mother always said: you don’t enjoy enough. But now I can do that. That will be an emotional day.’