Naarder Maarten Meiners can call himself an Olympian next month. The skier has been added to the Olympic team by NOC*NSF ‘on the basis of special circumstances’. It has been seventy years since the Netherlands was represented in skiing at the Olympic Games.
“I am incredibly grateful that NOC*NSF is aware of the special circumstances of the past two seasons and, by extension, recognizes the status of alpine skiing as a global top sport. This is a dream that I have worked on for fifteen years”, Meiners responds. through the Dutch Ski Association.
Proud cheese head
“I have been constantly trying to get the best out of myself. It was therefore a milestone for me to finish in that top 30 twice. Then you are, so to speak, in the final and as a cheese head I am very proud of that. I am immensely grateful to everyone who has supported me over the years.”
In principle, the sports umbrella’s requirement was that Meiners had to finish in the top 8 once or twice in the top 16 at a World Cup competition. The best result of the North Hollander is twice a 25th place.
“He was deprived of an equal opportunity for optimal preparation for this season”
However, Meiners, who will compete in giant slalom, suffered too much from various corona measures in Europe, according to NOC*NSF. “Ski areas, for example, only remained open for their own national teams. He was therefore deprived of an equal opportunity for optimal preparation for this season,” says Wopke de Vegt of the Dutch ski association.
The Dutch Adriana Jelinkova will also be active in Beijing. Dutch skiers were last at the start at the 1952 Games in Oslo.
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