Emotional Otter thinks about Van Ruijven after Olympic gold

Just like the short track players themselves, national coach Jeroen Otter thought after the win on the Olympic relief of Lara van Ruijven, who died in July 2020. “You don’t build such a team in a few months with four World Cup competitions, that takes a long time. We have raced with Lara in the team for years from 2012 and achieved great results with her,” said the national coach.

At the previous Games, in 2018 in Pyeongchang, the Orange women won bronze with Van Ruijven in the team. Otter: ̈”After that, we made a plan about what it should look like in the direction of Beijing. Lara is still thinking about it now. We have therefore also placed a heart on our Olympic suits. That feeling is still there. In the coming days, this group will remember that it could have been with another team.”

In the run-up to the final, Otter told his short track riders to enjoy the moment. “I just wanted them to realize that this is a very special match. There are two women in the team who have already experienced this. This was new for Selma Poutsma and Xandra Velzeboer. It can just be over, huh”, said the visibly emotional coach.