Jenning de Boo from Groningen lives his own fairy tale. After silver and bronze, the 19-year-old city native won gold in the 500 meters at the European Championship distances. His Groningen friends now call him Jenning de Boo-ing.
After his European championship race, Jenning de Boo stood there as if he could hardly believe it all. But the young sprinter, who only really made the transition from short track to long track this season, was by far the strongest in the 500 meters on Sunday during his first European Championships. De Boo, who previously became Dutch champion at this distance, completed his sprint in 34.48. He was therefore faster than Marten Liiv (34.78) from Estonia from the Groningen IKO and the Pole Marek Kania (34.86).
“We wanted to continue the good trend, but I still had to do that,” said a beaming De Boo, who skated a much faster lap than the competition, especially with 24.7. “I was slightly less sharp in the 1000 meters and the team sprint than at the National Championships. Then it is great that on the last day of the European Championships, after silver and bronze in this 500 meters, I can still squeeze this out and show this level.”
The Boo must deal with the increased pressure
The Groningen champion of Team Reggeborgh was cheered enthusiastically by the thousands of spectators in Thialf before and during his race. He already seems to have become a new crowd favorite. People who had previously heard little or nothing of the teenager were sitting on the edge of their bleacher seats when De Boo skated past. The pressure and expectations of De Boo are increasing and he has to deal with it.
“I’m looking forward to not competing next week,” said the new European title holder. “So much has happened to me. That’s fun, but it takes a lot of energy and brings extra pressure. That made me quite tense. But that was good for the 500 meters, because it kept me on edge. The fact that I have now won a title here still has to sink in. This is unbelievable, really unbelievable.”
De Boo skates just above his personal record
With his time of 34.48, De Boo was only a fraction above his personal record (34.44). That did surprise him. “Because the ride didn’t go perfectly. I started too slowly and at the last outside bend I neglected to make an extra change. Those kinds of things can make quite a difference in the 500 meters.”
The Groninger is ‘hot’ and is frequently asked for interviews, but those matters are now handled for him by his manager and the Reggeborgh team. “I didn’t have much to do with that before. This is all new to me,” said the former short tracker, who in that capacity already became junior world champion in the 500 meters.
It all goes much faster than expected
When he joined Reggeborgh, the team wanted to try him out for a season. “It was a challenge, but I had the urge to prove myself.” It all happened much faster than expected for De Boo. “Before this season I had not taken this European Championship into account. Now I had hoped that I could finish in the top ten here. But I really didn’t expect this. Can I skate a world record? Haha, we’ll just have to see.”
The local will compete at the World Distance Championships in Calgary in February and also at a number of World Cups, such as on the fast ice of Salt Lake City. “I want to keep improving and skate a little faster every time. But a world record isn’t on my mind yet. A medal? I have come closer again on the 1000 meters and the 500 meters may now be better than that distance. I hope to finish on the podium in the 500 meters during the World Championships.”
‘This gold is a nice ending to the European Championship’
More and more people are getting to know Jenning de Boo, who put his studies in kinesiology on the back burner. “There is a huge one boost on my social media. I suddenly saw banners and signs in Thialf saying Go Go De Boo, things like that. Nice to see. After silver and bronze, this gold is a very nice ending to this European Championship. I was hoping to get a third color and I did.”
His coach Gerard van Velde, himself a former top sprinter, was grinning from ear to ear. “It is very remarkable and clever what Jenning shows here. Especially after a week in which a lot is coming his way after his Dutch titles. That takes a lot of energy. Expectations have become extremely high. If you become European champion, you are a great. When I look at his 500 meters, some things are still not going well. It can be much faster. I’m really proud of him for how he does it all. We help him with everything, but in the end he has to do it himself.”