◆2 sources
Marijke Groenewoud won gold in the mass start and silver in the team pursuit with Joy Beune and Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong at the Milan Olympic Games. One report said she experienced tension during the individual-distance events and that her two-medal result nevertheless felt different to her.
A separate report said Groenewoud, from Grou, will place greater emphasis on marathon skating this season.
3 sources
Femke Kok said she had struggled to begin the new speed-skating season with the same enthusiasm after a season in which she won Olympic gold and set a world record. She said she did not yet feel like racing, but remains determined to extend her run of 26 consecutive victories over 500 metres and plans to be less hard on herself this season.
3 sources
Speed skating Olympic champion Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong said she aims to compete in track cycling at the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics while continuing her skating career. She described the goal as an extreme challenge. She was invited to ride at the track cycling World Championships that week, but could not take part because it conflicted with her skating schedule. She said she found that frustrating.
3 sources
Olympic speed skaters Jorrit Bergsma and Marijke Groenewoud criticised the International Skating Union’s planned new mass-start format for the coming season. Under the elimination-race format, a sprint will be held every two laps and the last skater will be eliminated.