Ireen Wüst had never heard such loud applause in Thialf as before the start of her very last race, Saturday at the World Cup final. “I was not prepared for that, I was already kind of crying and then I still had to skate. That’s why it might not have been my best ride,” she said about her last performance in the skating temple in Heerenveen.
Wüst said she had already calculated that there would be a lot of applause and had already hit the ice a ride earlier. “Where I was driving, the noise was there,” she noted. “I tried to have a good ride, but it didn’t really work. But I did enjoy every second.”
In her last stage, Wüst rides against the Japanese Takagi, who would take the victory. Partly due to the emotions, it is not the best ride from a sporting point of view. But an unforgettable one.
It’s the final meters of the last 1500 meters of her career, in a Thialf that was filled to the brim with fans eager to cheer her on one last time.
Among all those fans in the stands, including mom and dad Wüst. Shining with pride, watching their daughter skate the last ride. And don’t keep it completely dry.
Then the moment is there: the last time across the finish line.
And then comes the discharge.
Of course there is also a hug from coach Gerard van Velde with whom Wüst achieved so many successes.
And there are congratulations to Takagi, against whom Wüst has so often competed for the gold. On Saturday, the Japanese took the gold in the last race of the woman from Goirle.
A lap of honor in a packed Thialf. After years of empty stadiums due to the corona measures, the timing for her final ride was perfect. A grand applause for the skater who was unprecedentedly successful.
And finally, Wüst as we’ve seen her so often: both arms up, cheering over the ice after yet another victory. Saturday is the end of a wonderful skating career.