Koen Verweij’s erratic skating career can be summed up in two words: missed opportunity. Even though the 31-year-old North Hollander won Olympic medals in all colors, plus a world title all-round, too often his zest for life got in the way of exceptional performances.
Verweij made a name for himself mainly through his American-looking swagger. On social media he liked to show himself with his long blond locks on a Harley Davidson, whether or not accompanied by a girlfriend. His farewell was typical: the news of a broken love relationship (by speed skater Jutta Leerdam) came a day before his retirement as a sportsman (officially due to back problems).
That end seemed inevitable when Verweij failed to qualify for the Beijing Winter Games last December. That failed qualification, after years of not living as a top athlete, put an end to his increasingly improbable-sounding desire to deal with Sochi’s sporting trauma in 2014.
At those Winter Games, with eight golds and 24 medals, the most successful of all time for the Netherlands, Verweij was disappointed. He just missed the gold in the 1,500 meters. The margin in terms of time was minimal: 0.003 second. The Pole Zbigniew Brodka finished in 1.45.006, Verweij in 1.45.009. Translated into distance, the gap between him and the introverted Polish firefighter was 4 centimeters.
That narrow defeat hit Verweij hard, who was known as a goldcrest since he set faster times as a junior than Sven Kramer. Unlike most of Kramer’s competitors, who shyly drove around in his shadow, he noisily challenged the all-round king from Friesland.
‘If he does something, I think: I can do that too. And I say so. He thinks that’s funny. I think he recognizes that in himself and that it is new to him. There are no other guys who do that,” said Verweij as a 17-year-old member of Jong Oranje de Volkskrant.
Full of confidence
Initially, the established order thought this swagger was funny. Verweij was called a ‘toyboy’ by skaters, a nice lad, with enough guts and self-confidence to ride around on white skates with soft colors. ‘Next year I’ll get white with baby blue. Or maybe with baby pink. That’s very dirty.’
But his lack of professional seriousness soon broke him down. After a year at TVM, at the time the leading skating team around Kramer and Ireen Wüst, he was able to leave. It turned out to be the prelude to a ramble along at least ten trainers and teams, as far as Russia.
Thanks to his appearance and fame, Verweij remained interesting for sponsors and other lenders for many years. Many trainers were inspired by his natural talent and work ethic. Yet he rarely lived up to expectations. His name became synonymous with hassle, the gap between his ambitions and zeal too great.
‘Koen, he just needs a kick in the ass’, Sven Kramer sneered in 2016 NRC. ‘He knows that himself. It remains a sin. The commercial value is determined by the continuity of your performance. And that leaves something to be desired for some. I can’t make anything else out of that.’
Kramer realized better than anyone that Verweij was wasting his talent. With a view to the Olympic team pursuit, the North Hollander was brought back to TVM a year before the Sochi Winter Games, among other things to help Kramer to gold in the team pursuit. Verweij seized his chance and had the best season of his career.
Although he just missed the gold in the 1,500 meters, the plan for the Nations Cup is working. Kramer, Verweij and Jan Blokhuijsen won the top prize. A month later, Verweij also won the all-round world title, although six-time champion Kramer did not participate due to an operation.
Prefer a celebrity
That was it. The TVM team was disbanded and Kramer moved to the team of Jac Orie. He made no attempt to house Verweij: his golden teammate in the Olympic pursuit was now his main competitor. That cunning move proved, in retrospect, the death blow for Verweij.
While Kramer continued to focus on skating in all seriousness, and added three more world titles all-round to his honors list after 2014, Verweij indulged in the schnabbelcircuit. In the program Star Jumping he dived unconcerned from the ten-meter plank. He signed an advertising contract with underwear manufacturer Björn Borg. The light-hearted and lucrative life as a Dutch celebrity lured him away from the ice.
Despite various attempts at a comeback, Verweij gradually became a figure on the margins of top speed skating, the specter of a sportsman who squanders his talent. In recent years he has put his fame and experiences at the service of Jutta Leerdam, the sprint world champion who knows how to reconcile a desire for fame with professional seriousness. She is 23 years old, the same age as Verweij was at his peak. She chooses top sport.