At the decisive moment, Jenning de Boo beats his rival Jordan Stolz: World Cup gold in the 500 meters

The game of the year received a true conclusion. Almost the entire season, Jenning de Boo from Groningen had to take the American sprint champion Jordan Stolz. But in the last and most important competition, the World Championship distances in Hamar, Norwegian, he beat his American rival on Friday evening and won gold in the 500 meters. “I wanted this so much,” he said.

The showdown between the two super sprinters Stolz (20) and De Boo (19) was fascinating all season to see. In the first three world cup competitions, Stolz managed to beat his competitor, both in the 500 and 1,000 meters. Yet De Boo always managed to get a little closer – which strengthens him in his faith that he could eventually be right this season. “I can rgo him,” he said after the third World Cup match of the year, in Calgary (Canada).

But when Stolz finally broke once at the end of January – calculated on his ‘home job’ in Milwaukee, a 45 -minute drive from his parental home – it was not the Boo who won. The second 500 meters of the weekend went unexpectedly to the Japanese Tatsuya Shinhama. De Boo finished tenth. “The battery was just empty,” he said afterwards.

Tiredness in the legs

At the last World Cup, at the end of January in Heerenveen, De Boo finally managed to skate to gold – both in the 500 and 1,000 meters. Only: and direct settlement with Stolz was hardly: his rival only started in the 1,500 meters and the first 500 meters, and then reported for the rest of the distances. The cause of his malaise, his coach Bob Corby said: “Legs in the legs” by training too hard after a throat and pneumonia. “I let him lift too many heavy weights last week.”

With such an unexpectedly bad general, the question was how Stolz would stand for the Vikingschip this weekend in IJsstadion. Physically he had recovered from all complaints, he said to the NOS“But mentally I was a bit better for it last year, I think.”

Stolz rode in Hamar in the second-to-last ride, against his countryman Cooper McLeod. He set the fastest time (34.38). In the final ride it was the turn of the Boo. He got a false start with his Polish opponent Marek Kania, but then drove his fastest opening ever. With his long body folded, he flew through the bends. When he crossed the line, he turned out to have stayed Stolz 0.14 seconds. He won in 34.24.

Unimaginable growth

Afterwards Stolz clearly looked disappointed: a season that started with total hegemony seems to take a wrong turn at the last minute. “Technically I was good, I thought. But I didn’t have enough power in my legs. ” His illness and overtraining must have influenced the result, Stolz said. “I felt that I couldn’t get rid of my strength on the ice.”

The contrast with the Boo was great. After his victory, he almost seemed to break up with excitement. He had never been so nervous, “he said. He called the ride “my best 500 meters ever”. He said about Stolz: “Maybe he is still not one hundred percent, but that does not detract from my world title.”

On Saturday, Stolz and De Boo meet for the second time at this World Cup, in the 1,000 meters. Regardless of the result of that showdown, this gold medal for De Boo is already the crown on a year of unimaginable growth. Last year at the World Championship distances in Calgary, he was twelfth in the 500 meters. “And now,” he beamed afterwards, “I’m just fucking world champion. ”

Femke Kok shook his head dissatisfied after 500 meters. Yet she turned out to have been the fastest and her time was good for World Cup gold. Photo Sem van der Wel / ANP

Cook gold, Leerdam silver

In addition to De Boo, another Dutch Sprinter won a gold medal on Friday. Femke Kok, who had fallen day before during the training, triumphed in the 500 meters. After a false start, she drove a less fast time expected. Her luck was that her most important rival, the American Olympic champion in Jackson, also got a false start – and then rode the fifth time. Kok called her ride afterwards “a horror.” “It didn’t go, from start to finish.” Yet she triumphed-and won World Cup gold in the 500 meters for the third year in a row. Jutta Leerdam won a silver medal.

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