Jenning de Boo has just moved to the heart of Heerenveen, and just before the European Championship distances, the brand new Dutch champion (500 and 1000 meters) is 200 meters from the place where he has lived for the past four years.
In Oranjewoud, near Heerenveen, the Groninger was waved goodbye by his Frisian host family last week, now his team has booked Reggeborgh hotel Tjaarda as a base for the European three-day skating in Thialf that starts on Friday.
“We used to be here with the short track team,” said the 19-year-old leader of the last skating week of 2023 on Wednesday in the lobby of the hotel surrounded by woods. “I always thought it was very nonsensical at the time because I lived within walking distance here. Now I finally have a room to myself and that feels very good.”
The Boo has suddenly become one of the favorites for the European distance titles in the 500 and 1000 meters. He can immediately fulfill one of those expectations on Friday evening: the teenager kicks off the tournament with the kilometer in which he became national champion just before New Year’s Eve after an astonishing intermediate lap of 24.45. No one has ever skated so fast over 400 meters in Heerenveen.
‘They were all nice messages’
“My phone has exploded, I have had so many responses,” says De Boo in his first interview of 2024. “But they were all nice messages. So no punishment. The performance has now dropped a bit, but I did not expect this beforehand. So it wasn’t normal. Maybe that makes it all the more fun. Kind of a surprise.”
Can the youngster help Thialf again, in the first sports weekend of the year? “Of course I skate against Olympic champions like Kjeld Nuis and Norwegian Lorentzen. I just hope that I can continue that line of the NK. And that I can achieve the same times as last weekend. Or maybe even better. And then we hope that is enough, of course.”
Huge need for proof
Does he feel pressure? “I always put pressure on myself,” says De Boo. He refers to the opening weekend of the season, the so-called WCKT at the end of October, when the starting tickets for the World Cup competitions were skated. “Then I had an enormous need for proof. I wanted to show the team that they had made a good choice by giving me a contract. That played a major role at the time. Things were going very well in training. I also wanted to show that in the match.”
Moreover, De Boo had stated in his online introductory meeting with coaches Gerard van Velde and Dennis van der Gun last spring that he would like to drive 1.09 low. “And at 500 meters a 35 layer. Those were realistic goals. I didn’t want to seem too bold. But just ambitious. I thought those times were a great goal.”
Those goals became facts between Christmas and New Year’s Day. De Boo: “I really enjoy living from match to match. And of course it’s good to set goals, but I don’t want to worry too much about them. So I know which matches are coming up now. I know where I’m going to drive. And of course I also have some idea in my mind how fast I want to drive there. But hey, I haven’t ridden against this competition that often.”
Favorite hobby
After the European Championship distances, De Boo takes up his favorite hobby again: short track. He then reports back to the training team of coach Dave Versteeg, whom he exchanged for long track skating at Reggeborgh last spring after four years. “Gerard van Velde is also in favor of me continuing to short track. Just maintain my strengths and improve my weaknesses. I think Gerard suits me very well. He gives a lot of technical instructions, and then the speed will come naturally.”
The 1500 meters is still just too far for those who think that the Groningen giant could also handle the skating mile. “At the beginning of this season I rode a 1500 meter at the National Championships for clubs,” explains De Boo. “After that I was knocked out. Also had to throw up. During that period I had enormous difficulty with the intensity of the long track races. It really turned out to be an attack on my body. I kept needing a bowl. Only just before the WCKT did I get the hang of everything. Drink a lot and eat well in advance to prevent vomiting. But the 1500 meters is still a lap too long. We will be working on that this summer.”
Does De Boo also see himself as the Dutch answer to Jordan Stolz, the American wonder boy who, as an 18-year-old, became world champion three times at the World Championships in Heerenveen last March? “We hope so. I drove straight off it last year. And I now hope that I am either close to him or maybe I can beat him, of course.”