Short track players after Olympic gold: this was also Lara’s dream
Pride and disbelief dominated the Dutch short track speed skaters after they had won gold in the relay at the Beijing Winter Games. “I screamed my lungs out, my throat now hurts. I’m so proud of those girls,” said Suzanne Schulting, who had given the Netherlands the sixth gold medal with Yara van Kerkhof, Selma Poutsma and Xandra Velzeboer. at the NOS.
And of course reference was also made to Lara van Ruijven, the short track star who died in July 2020 from the consequences of an autoimmune reaction. “Before the ride I looked up to see if she could give us strength,” said Van Kerkhof, who could barely comprehend what had happened to her. “I feel like we’re still driving behind her. She’s there.”
Schulting, who previously won gold in the 1000 meters in Pyeongchang 2018 and extended that Olympic title in Beijing, said that there was still talk about Van Ruijven in advance. “That has really been mentioned. We also thought about it here and there was a tear here and there. Lara is in our hearts. She will look down on us proudly. This was also her dream.”