The key word for 52-year-old Ritsma when he took office is ‘commitment’. ‘I see it as a challenge to work together towards Olympic success, where it is important that you have faith in each other’, says Ritsma, who will start his new job next week. He is committed until the 2026 Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. He is ceasing his work as a skating analyst at the NOS.
In recent years, under the leadership of Coopmans, there has been a lack of confidence and commitment. In the fragmented commercial Dutch skating landscape, it is complicated to align the individual skaters and their coaches. That was insufficient.
At the Winter Games in Beijing, where the KNSB skating association had emphasized the team components, it became apparent how little Coopmans had managed to get the teams up to standard. The men finished ingloriously fourth, the women had to settle for bronze. At the mass start there was gold thanks to Irene Schouten, although that was more due to her own class and the assistance of her helper Marijke Groenewoud than to the contribution of the national coach.
Pioneer of commercial ice skating
With Ritsma, a national coach with a completely different profile steps onto the ice. He is a four-time all-round world champion, six-time European champion and has won six medals (twice silver, four bronze) at five Winter Games. He is a pioneer of commercial skating and is regarded as an icon in long track speed skating. Remy de Wit, technical director at the KNSB, expects a lot from him. ‘Rintje has a wealth of skating knowledge. He can ensure that the skaters and coaches involved will put their shoulders to the wheel together.’
According to De Wit, the skaters and their trainers are convinced that things can be done better than last winter in Beijing. ‘For drivers and coaches, the individual route to Olympic success is paramount. But if you also want to win gold in the team components, you have to work together more and better’, he says. The reins are tightened in this regard. Anyone who does not commit to joint training sessions does not have to count on an Olympic ticket.
Despite all good intentions, Ritsma knows how complicated winning the team pursuit can be. He himself was part of the Dutch team when the part was on the Olympic program for the first time in Turin in 2006. It seemed like an excellent opportunity for Ritsma to finally win that coveted Olympic title in the autumn of his career, but due to Sven Kramer’s fall in the semi-finals, there was ultimately no more for the Dutch than bronze.