Roest Misses Olympics: Van de Bunt Shocks Selection

He had doubted whether he should even start. “But yes,” said Patrick Roest on Friday after completing the five kilometers at the Olympic qualifying tournament (OKT) in Heerenveen, “continuing to run away from competitions will not make you any better anyway.”

He finished fourteenth, almost 17 seconds behind the surprising winner Stijn van de Bunt. His time: 06.26.28 – a far cry from the top times of the past. What everyone actually knew in advance, including himself, became a fact: Roest (30), the country’s best all-rounder for many years and good for one bronze and two silver medals in Beijing four years ago, will not be at the Olympic Games in Milan in February. He was unable to overcome the hopeless form crisis that has plagued him for two seasons. “I still dreamed of Milan, but I knew it was not realistic.”

Dreamed successor

Patrick Roest from Lekkerkerk in South Holland was the dream successor to Sven Kramer. The new Dutch top performer on long distances. And for the first seven or eight years of his career it seemed to be heading in that direction. World all-round champion in 2018, 2019 and 2020. European all-round champion in 2021 and 2023. Four medals at two Olympic Games. After the skating retirement of the Swedish long-distance king Nils van der Poel, in 2022: the intended new ruler of the five kilometers.

And then it stopped, suddenly. Last season started poorly, due to the after-effects of a pulled wisdom tooth. Then his back bothered him, which turned into excessive fatigue. The skating year was over before it had even started. This season was supposed to go better, but once back on skates he completely lost the good feeling. Skating smoothly on intuition, as he had done all his life, was no longer possible. “I can’t move freely.”

Stijn van de Bunt surprisingly won the 5,000 meters at the OKT in Thialf. “I don't think I realize yet that I have qualified for the Games.” — Stijn van de Bunt surprisingly won the 5,000 meters at the OKT in Thialf. “I don’t think I realize yet that I have qualified for the Games.”

Sem van der Wal/ANP

The fact that he still started this Boxing Day was a small miracle. Roest was unable to qualify for the World Cup competitions – the usual route to the OKT. He stayed in the Netherlands to train, the OKT starting permit had to be obtained through small national competitions. But even that didn’t work out in the 5,000 meters – his distance: in mid-December he could not get further than eighth place at the Holland Cup in Enschede. Ultimately, he was assigned a designation spot by the KNSB skating association. “A world champion from less than two years ago,” said Remy de Wit of the KNSB about that decision, “must have a chance at the Olympic Games.”

Crowd pleaser

It was not due to the support of the public on Friday in Thialf. Already on his first entry lap, sipping from a water bottle, Patrick Roest received thunderous applause in the Ireen Wüst corner of Thialf. On his face: a mixture of tension and despair. After the warm-up, the hood went up and his glasses were carefully placed over it.

During his ride, the audience continued to passionately cheer for Roest, roused by stadium speaker Geert Kuiper. “Even when things go wrong, we will not immediately forget all those European and world titles,” said Thialf. “Patrick Roest has his own chapter in Dutch skating history.”

But it was clear from the start that Roest was not going to cause any surprises. He never once managed to complete a lap under 30 seconds. “There is the acceleration at Roest,” Kuiper echoed hopefully when Roest was a few tenths of a second faster somewhere in the middle. “It won’t happen, will it?” It turned out to be a vain hope. The lap times went up again, Roest’s teeth became visible. What remained was a round of applause as we finished the race, hands on knees.

End of skating career

What now? He understands the questions about the possible end of his career, says Roest after the five kilometers. “Yes, I have thought about quitting.” Yet he is still motivated, he says, and he still hopes to return to his old level. In any case, he would still like to compete at the National All-round Championships at the end of the season. Let’s see if he has found his way up by then.

Starting ticket Outsider Van de Bunt wins 5,000 meters at the Olympic qualifying tournament

No, he didn’t expect this. Stijn van de Bunt stood sober in front of the skating press in Thialf after his surprising qualification for the Olympic Games in the 5,000 meters at the OKT, in a time of 6:09. “I knew I was on the right track,” he said, referring to a training ride two weeks ago in which he rode 6:11. “But this was a very big blow.”

Last summer, 21-year-old Van de Bunt was in hospital with a broken back and ribs after he crashed into a car during a descent at a training camp in Andorra. He was in the hospital for three days and was unable to train for eight days. “That is of course not much, but as an athlete everything happens very slowly,” he laughed.

Prior to the OKT, he felt no pressure, said Van de Bunt, who had to ride in stage six and then had to watch for three stages. “I had a higher heart rate after my ride than before.” He himself could not explain that lack of tension. “I normally have quite a lot of tension.”

Van de Bunt did not yet know on which day the 5,000 meters will be held in Milan (February 8). “This was not what we wrote on my calendar.” It didn’t seem to matter much to him. “I don’t think I realize yet that I have qualified for the Games.”