NOS Skating•
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Joost Smedema
editor skating in Hamar
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Joost Smedema
editor skating in Hamar
It is not the return he had hoped for. Joep Wennemars became world champion in the 1,000 meters at the end of last season in Hamar. He followed in the footsteps of his father Erben and jumped into the air in the middle court.
Wennemars will not make such a jump this weekend. He is suffering from a groin injury, but still has to travel to Norway.
Boarding the plane with an injury
It will be a lightning visit. On Friday morning Wennemars will fly to Oslo, on Friday evening he will hit the ice in Hamar and then return to the Netherlands as quickly as possible.
A strange situation for the world champion. Why does Wennemars have to board the plane injured?
The first four World Cups of this skating season are all about Olympic qualification. All countries had to secure their starting places for the Milan Games at the competitions in Salt Lake City, Calgary, Heerenveen and this weekend in Hamar.
In order to be allowed to attend the Games with the maximum number of nine men, the Netherlands must reach a limit at each distance. For the 500 meters, the limit is three skaters in the top 21 of the World Cup rankings.
If that number is not reached, not nine, but only eight men will be allowed to go to Milan.
View the program of the World Cup in Hamar below:
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The program for the World Cup in Hamar on Friday -
The program for the World Cup in Hamar on Saturday -
The program for the World Cup in Hamar on Sunday
World champion Jenning de Boo is second in the rankings for the 500 meters, Sebas Diniz is number thirteen. Wennemars is in seventeenth place and is in danger of dropping if he is absent. Skating association KNSB wants to hold the maximum number of places and desperately needs Wennemars.
With his points, Wennemars remains in the top 21 and the Netherlands on course for the nine starting places. He can do that even with an injury.
Starting and not finishing goes against everything I stand for as a skater.
Wennemars doesn’t even have to finish. Starting is enough. In fact, he doesn’t even have to respond to the starting shot. Standing at the line and immediately abandoning his race is enough to earn 21 World Cup points for last place.
‘Only what I could do for the Netherlands’
Last weekend Wennemars had to do the same in Thialf. He took a few more steps after the starting shot, came up quickly and slid into the entry lane.
“Starting and not finishing goes against everything I stand for as a skater,” Wennemars said through his team Essent, “but at the moment it was the only thing I could do for the Netherlands.”
Injured Wennemars starts and stops immediately, but important Games points have been won
The ISU skating union has introduced the rule that requires skaters to start but not to finish this season. The ISU wants to ensure that injured skaters do not have to ride the entire distance to earn points.
These World Cup points are not only important for the Olympic starting places, they also involve prize money that many skaters can use.
Last year, Canadian Laurent Dubreuil had to complete the 500 meters with a groin injury to collect points. He took it easy and gave up more than twelve seconds to the winner.
To protect injured skaters, it is no longer necessary to reach the finish, but Wennemars still has to board the plane injured.
