Short Track Speed Skating 2020 - 2021 Discussion Thread

[phelps 8,714]

[heywoodu 16,464]

Lara van Ruijven, last year's 500m world champion, has been hospitalized in France during a training camp. She is apparently seriously ill and is reported to be in a stable but critical condition. 

[phelps 8,714]

3 hours ago, heywoodu said:

Lara van Ruijven, last year's 500m world champion, has been hospitalized in France during a training camp. She is apparently seriously ill and is reported to be in a stable but critical condition. 

damn...

 

I hope she can recover from this, despite all...

[heywoodu 16,464]

The national team coach Jeroen Otter today said there has been not a single sign of recovery and Van Ruijven is very much fighting for her life. She is in an artificial coma and that's not expected to change (at least in a positive way) any time soon. 

 

Apparently she got struck by some sort of auto-immune disorder, leading to severe complications including internal bleedings. A second surgery has already been done but didn't lead to any positive change. 

 

It's pretty clear: this is very much going in the wrong direction. 

[heywoodu 16,464]

I'm afraid this is not coming as a surprise, but it is absolutely devastating nonetheless. The Dutch speed skating federation has just announced the death of Lara van Ruijven at 27.

[heywoodu 16,464]

Barely three months ago she was showing us how to stay fit in these times. I really which disease just completely shredded through her in a matter of weeks (no word about COVID-19, and it didn't sound like that).

 

[intoronto 6,904]

This is so devastatingly sad. I met Lara in 2015, and she was a nice person. Condolences to her family, friends and teammates.

 

 

[heywoodu 16,464]

For what it's worth: during the week there were some more complications, but doctors thought they had gotten it under control. Things escalated though, and this morning they had to bring the news to her family that any form of recovery was not going to happen. At the beginning of the evening she passed away with her family, boyfriend (and possibly some teammates) with her.

[Jinzha 703]

Devastated to hear the news of her disease and her passing. Lara van Ruijven was an amazing athlete and showed an incredibly enthusiastic and likeable personality in her media presence. A massive loss for short track and Dutch sports.

 

The Dutch shorttrack team is an incredibly tightknit team. I hope they can support and comfort each other.

[Grassmarket 4,302]

Wow, absolutely incredible sporting story I have just heard! 

 

Eddy Alvarez, who took Silver for  in the 5000m ST in Sochi made his Major League Baseball debut for the Miami Marlins on Wednesday!  Played 2 games against Baltimore.
 

He’s the first, needless to say, Winter Olympian ever to play in MLB.

 

https://www.si.com/mlb/2020/08/06/marlins-eddy-alvarez-olympic-speedskater
 

He is from a Miami Cuban family  - and was in fact the first Cuban-American ever to make the Winter Olympics. Since Sochi had been playing pro Baseball in the minor leagues eventually rising to the AAA level - ie one level below MLB. Marlins have been hard-hit by COVID, so that’s probably why, but an incredible achievement.  There’s been lots of dual skaters-cyclists but.....