NOS Skating•
Schulting wants to go to the Games as a short tracker: ‘Belong to the best three in the Netherlands’
The high word is out. Suzanne Schulting wants to compete at the Olympic Games in Milan next month as both a short track skater and a long track skater.
“I think I belong there as a short tracker, especially with what I showed today,” Schulting said after she finished third in the 1,000 meters at the National Championships in Leeuwarden, the distance at which she is a two-time Olympic champion.
Schulting qualified for the long track at the Olympic qualifying tournament (OKT) for the Olympic Games in Milan last week, but during the season she remained unclear about her ambitions as a short track skater in Italy. She did train a number of times with the team of national coach Niels Kerstholt.
She will be clear about that on Saturday. “I am looking at the possibilities for a combination of long track speed skating and short track speed skating in Milan. This weekend is a good measuring moment to see how I am doing and to show how good I am.”
“I think I show that I belong to the best three in the Netherlands, despite the fact that I have not been on the short track ice much. I can still do it very well and there is still room for growth.”
‘Old love doesn’t rust’
In the past two years, Schulting, three-time Olympic short track champion, has barely competed in a short track competition. After a broken ankle, she opted for a career as a long-track skater.
But in Leeuwarden she returned to the short track ice. “Old love never dies. This is the sport that started my career and where I won so many wonderful medals. That love never goes away.”
The question was how her ankle would hold up. “I have no pain, even now that I have been on the ice more.”
‘It’s up to the national coach’
If it were up to Schulting, she could easily be included in the short track selection for Milan.
The only question is whether national coach Kerstholt wants to sacrifice a short track star who has fought for a place in the Olympic selection for Schulting’s return over the past two years. Kerstholt may make a nomination to the KNSB selection committee, which will decide by Monday at the latest. Five short track speed skaters are allowed to go to Milan.
“If I’m not there? Then I’m curious what the considerations are. I want to let my legs do the talking and I did that yesterday (during qualifying) and today. It is now up to the selection committee and the national coach whether I fit into the team. I am also aware that I have not competed in any short track competitions this entire season.”
