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Schouten in last stage 3000 meters, Achtereekte in stage three
9:54 AM: Speed skater Irene Schouten will start on Saturday at the 3000 meters of the Olympic Games in the tenth and last stage. The favorite will take on Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida. Olympic champion Carlijn Achtereekte is already in action in the third stage against Miho Takagi from Japan. Reigning world champion Antoinette de Jong will compete in stage 6 against the Japanese Ayano Sato.
The 3000 meters is the first distance of the Olympic speed skating tournament. The German Claudia Pechstein, gold winner in Salt Lake City in 2002 and active for the eighth time at the Games, starts in stage 1 against the Chinese Adake Ahena Er. Schouten was the best in all her races this season in the 3000 meters.
The 3000 meters will start at 09.30 (Dutch time).
Bach: torchlight procession symbol the world needs
09.28 am: The Olympic torch relay is a symbol that the world needs time in times of division and confrontation. That said President Thomas Bach of the International Olympic Committee just hours before the opening ceremony of the Winter Games in Beijing. The German took part in the relay with the Olympic torch on Friday.
Bach thought it was important to participate himself. “Doing this right before the opening ceremony really boosted the adrenaline and boosted my confidence for the Winter Games,” said the 68-year-old chairman, who won Olympic gold in fencing in 1976.
The 2022 Winter Games follow relatively shortly after the Summer Games, which were postponed by a year due to corona and were held in Tokyo last summer. “We are in the sport and we also see challenges as opportunities. That’s why we live by the Olympic motto: we get faster, we aim higher and we get stronger.”
Less than half of TeamNL to Games opening ceremony
8.10 am: Less than half of the Dutch sports team present in Beijing will participate in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on Friday. This concerns 22 athletes and 26 supervisors of TeamNL, NOC*NSF reports.
In addition to skater Kjeld Nuis and figure skater Lindsay van Zundert, who carry the Dutch flag during the parade in the Vogelnest stadium, twelve skaters, six bobsleighers and two short track skaters (including reserves) are taking part.
The participating skaters are Sanne in ‘t Hof, Thomas Krol, Merijn Scheperkamp, Marcel Bosker, Kai Verbij, Jutta Leerdam, Hein Otterspeer, Michelle de Jong, Femke Kok and the three reserves Merel Conijn, Melissa Wijfje and Beau Snellink.
Ivo de Bruin, Jelen Franjic, Janko Franjic, Dennis Veenker, Stephan Huis in ‘t Veld and Karlien Sleper will represent the Netherlands during the ceremony on behalf of the bobsleigh team. Short trackers Georgie Dalrymple and Bram Steenaart, who are reserve in Beijing, will also attend the ceremony.
So of the 42 athletes who actually compete in Beijing, 17 will attend the ceremony. Many athletes choose to stay in the Olympic village because they have to be in action during the Games in the coming days. At the opening ceremony, athletes often have to stand on their feet for a long time. It is also well below freezing in Beijing in the evening.
“It’s great that we can represent the Netherlands with such a large group from TeamNL at the opening ceremony,” says chef de mission Carl Verheijen. “I sincerely hope that our athletes enjoy this special moment and experience a memory for life. And above all that it gives them extra energy and inspiration for their games at the Games.”
The opening ceremony will start at 1 p.m. Dutch time.
Norwegian skier Kilde descends ‘The Rock’ fastest in strong wind
8.06 am: Norwegian skier Aleksander Aamodt Kilde has underlined his descent favorites role with the best time in the second practice of the king’s number. He clocked 1.43.72 on the track called ‘The Rock’ where conditions were particularly difficult due to bitter cold and high winds. For that reason, the training started an hour later than planned.
Kilde has already won three World Cup descents this season and the 29-year-old Norwegian also leads the World Cup standings in the speed discipline. He wants to succeed compatriot Aksel Lund Svindal, who won Olympic gold in the downhill in Pyeongchang in 2018.
Austrian Max Franz set the second fastest time in practice at 1.43.78, just 0.06 seconds slower than Kilde. Canadian Broderick Thompson set the third time: 1.43.92.
“I had a better flow than yesterday in the first practice. It seemed like I was lucky with the wind. It was great,” Kilde said after his run. He hopes to be the fastest down again on Sunday during the Olympic race. “We will see. Anything can happen, especially if it does again. It’s not like it will be easy. It is never easy to win an Olympic gold medal.”