Speed skater Ireen Wüst has been appointed Commander in the Order of Orange-Nassau for her exceptional performance at the Winter Olympics. She is the first athlete ever to receive this award. “A very big surprise.”
As Commander of Orange, Wüst is in a special list with Dick Bruna, Karel Appel and Jeroen Krabbé. The 35-year-old speed skater from Goirle made history in Beijing by being the first athlete to win Olympic gold at five Winter Games in a row.
When she visited the king, she was surprised. “I thought: I’m getting another very nice statue that I already have a collection of,” she said to the NOS†
Prime Minister Mark Rutte also addressed Wüst especially in his speech: “You were the youngest Dutch Olympic champion at the Winter Games in 2006. And now you are the only athlete in the world to win individual gold at five consecutive Winter Games. Then you are really the best. largest.”
Wüst will end her impressive career after this season, in which she won a total of thirteen Olympic medals. On March 12, she will say goodbye in Thialf, where she will ride her last 1500 meters as Olympic champion. The skating hall in Heerenveen is sold out.
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