Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong finished with tears of joy after her spectacular battle against Joy Beune in the final five kilometers. For the fourth time in a row she was European all-round champion. The 29-year-old Frisian has been skating among the world’s top skaters for years. And yet those tears. “This is so great, I was so nervous, I wanted it so bad,” she said a little later in front of the camera of the NOS. “This is a very nice one.”
With the exciting denouement, the two Dutch favorites turned the European All-round Championships into a memorable edition. In the atmosphere of 1997, when Tonny de Jong defeated the German favorites in Thialf and ensured Dutch all-round success among women for the first time in years. Or like at the 2007 European Championships in Collalbo, where Martina Sablikova with a fantastic five kilometers still proved to be too strong for Ireen Wüst.
“I really wanted to get on that carriage,” Rijpma-De Jong said afterwards, laughing, referring to the traditional ceremony in the horse-drawn sleigh, which she had to miss due to corona for her previous title in Thialf.
The skater, who switched from coach Jac Orie to Team Reggeborgh this season, started the tournament as an underdog, after finishing third at the NK all-round two weeks ago, well behind Beune. Mainly thanks to a strong 500 meters (first in 38.50), she started the five kilometers with a 5.77 lead over Beune. But the longest distance is not her favorite part. Lap by lap she saw Beune pull away a little further. But never too far. By accelerating from 34 to 33 seconds in the last two laps, the loss was limited to 4.58 seconds. Enough for the title. “I wanted to keep driving my own ride,” she said afterwards. “I fought for every meter and I succeeded!”
Beune, world all-round champion in Inzell last year, indicated after her second place that “crying was closer to her than laughing.” She did show respect for the champion Rijpma-De Jong. “She is a biter,” she said to NOS. “When she sets her mind to something, she works hard for it. She was just a little bit better than me.”
In the final distance, Beune (6.57.55) and Rijpma-De Jong (7.02.13) did not come close to Ragne Wiklund. The Norwegian, who also won the three kilometers a day earlier, achieved a time of 6.50.81 and finished third in the final classification. Merel Conijn came second in the five kilometers (6.52.43) and finished fourth.