Prins at Euro Championship: Recovery & Redemption

No longer in sackcloth and ashes, but back on the ice. Skater Tim Prins tries to focus on the European Championship distances as best he can. And above all: to change his mind after he was left out of the Olympic selection by the KNSB selection committee.

He was furious, his dream had been “destroyed”. Prins had ridden to the right side of the much-discussed Olympic matrix in the 1,500 meters, but is not allowed to go to Milan. He still feels the aftereffects of that blow a week later. “Very disappointed, and of course I was also angry about the course of events and the reasoning behind everything,” says Prins in Tomaszów Mazowiecki.

He has not yet had contact with Rintje Ritsma, who as national coach was closely involved in the non-selection of Prins. “As far as I’m concerned, that’s not necessary,” says Prins, who will ride the team sprint under Ritsma this weekend.

From a Dutch point of view, the European Championships have been significantly devalued. Olympic preparation is given priority for Prins’s teammates and compatriots. Of all Dutch Olympians, only sprinter Anna Boersma will compete in Poland.

“The nine men and nine women for the Games are on paper, I am not among them,” he notes. “So I have to ride what there is to ride.”

It took a few days to get back on track, admits the 22-year-old Fries. Dealing with the disappointment and anger with fast food and short nights turned out not to work.

“I quickly focused on skating again. The training, the lifestyle and everything around it. I had let go of that a bit, but that didn’t really make me happy. My sleep rhythm was a bit off and with nutrition… I let go of everything a bit. The motivation was gone for a while, but that didn’t last long.”

And so he traveled to Poland, where he wants to leave the aftermath of the OKT behind him. And: “A European Championship is a European Championship, and I have never won a senior title, so that could be a nice goal. It would clean up the blemish a bit for me.”

But no, Prins is not at the start with a knife between his teeth. “No, I have to be honest about that, I don’t have that at the moment. I don’t know what to expect, I skated today and it didn’t go well. That doesn’t say anything about tomorrow, it could have turned 180 degrees.”

On Friday, Prins will compete in the 1,000 meters, the first of four distances at his European Championships. “I know myself: when I stand on the starting line, I go for it. The form of the past week and a half must still be there.”