The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics has come to an end with the closing ceremony on February 20. With 17 medals — eight golds, five silvers and four bronzes, TeamNL placed 6th at the medal table. 🥇
Now, it’s time to recap the top highlights from our Dutch athletes. 👇🏻
Speed skating: six golds, four silvers, two bronzes
Think of it as being like long-distance sprints — but on the ice. 🥶
Irene Shouten
“Queen of the ice!” — a Eurosport commentator exclaimed after Dutch speed skater Irene Schouten, 29, finished 1st with an unbelievable sprint in Women’s Mass Start held on February 19. This was the third individual gold medal Schouten has won at the 2022 Olympics.
On February 5, she took a gold medal in Women’s 3000m and broke the previous Olympic record set at the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics. Her dominating performance continued on February 10, new Olympic record in the 5000m and another gold medal.
Ireen Wüst
Schouten’s teammate, Ireen Wüst, also showed us what a legend is. The 35-year-old won a gold medal and set an Olympic record in Women’s 1500m, and became the first-ever athlete to win individual gold medals at five different Olympics.
Antoinette de Jong and Jutta Leerdam
Meanwhile, younger Dutch skaters gave their best performance at the 2022 Games. Antoinette de Jong, 26, took bronze in Women’s 1500m, and Jutta Leerdam, 23, won silver in Women’s 1000m. The Dutch female speed skaters also proved how powerful they are as a team with a bronze medal in Women’s Team Pursuit. 💪🏻
Kjeld Nuis and Thomas Krol
Dutch male speed skaters took five medals in total — two golds and three silvers. The defending champion of Men’s 1500m, Kjeld Nuis (32), prolonged his Olympic title and set a new Olympic record in the 1500m, while his teammate Thomas Krol (29) took silver. Krol later won himself a gold in Men’s.
Patrick Roest
1000m on 18th February. The best Dutch distance skater, Patrick Roest, 26, won silver in Men’s 5000m on 6th February, and another silver in the 10000m on 11th February. 🙌
Short track speed skating: two golds, one silver, one bronze
You wanna see some real speed? Look no further than these reigning Dutch Olympic champions! 👇
Suzanne Schulting
After setting a world record in the Women’s 1000m quarter-final and winning gold in the final, Suzanne Schulting, 24, was heralded as “the flying Dutchwoman” in an article published on the official website of the 2022 Games.
Before the 1000m event on February 11, she already took silver in Women’s 500m on February 7. Later, Schulting won bronze in the 1500m on February 16.
On February 13, the flying Dutchwoman and her teammates, Selma Poutsma, 22, Xandra Velzeboer, 20, and Yara van Kerkhof, 31, beat Team Korea to the gold medal in Women’s 3000m Relay and set a new Olympic record.
Skeleton: a historic bronze medal
It was easy to think that other Dutch athletes would be overshadowed by the indomitable Dutch skaters at the 2022 Games, but Kimberley Bos, 28, strived to prove this wrong. She made history for the Netherlands by taking bronze in Women’s Skeleton and became the first Dutch skeleton athlete to win a medal.
Go TeamNL! 🇳🇱🏆
Have you followed the 2022 Winter Olympics? Tell us your most memorable moments in the comments!
