Noorderling29

Given their 3-0 victory against France this morning, and the limited number of points Canada can gain against South Korea this evening (our time), the Dutch tem has leapfrogged Canada. Still too close to call.

The big difference between the 2016/2018 successful Dutch team and the current one is the absence of an opposite like Lonneke Sloetjes. Celeste Plak does not deliver the same consistency and number of points and I’m still not convinced that Damberink has what it takes. So we’ve fallen back from being number 4 to 6 of the world (with 4th places at both the Rio Olympics and 2018 Worlds) to around 10 to 12. Good enough to scare a better team on our day and to make to the final 4 at the Europeans but not good enough to be competitive for prices at the World stage.

Against the Dominican Republic, the Dutch team played mostly with their reserves, with the setter and the main attackers staying on the bench, with the opposite and setter only coming in for a few points at the end of the sets.

Perhaps. But also Annemiek and Marianne are personalities that the public can relate to; their ups and downs, their victories and their defeats. Especially Annemiek is a good speaker, with a huge talent to express what’s important to her. Like Froome, Vollering seems to have little to say.

She’s a bit like Froome. An excellent rider, with a bland personality. My impression is that she’s not very popular in our country. Unlike for instance both Vos and Van Vleuten. She’s does not seem to have that “gun factor”, which poorly translates as goodwill factor.

I believe Vollering will also start in the time trial. i’ve often wondered if the Dutch successes in women’s cycling are because of or in spite of all these histrionics.

No mention of this news yet on any of the X accounts that follow Dutch athletics or on teletekst for that matter.

Who knows? I’m just the messenger.

I’m just quoting someone who has direct personal experience of how the Italian Judo Federation is run and imagined that to be interesting. Whether she’s right or wrong, I don’t know. I have no opinions whatsoever on the way either Italy or the Italian Judo Federation are run, because I have no personal experience of either and these matters have zero influence on my life. There’s enough shit going on in my own country.

I’m sure you know better than her, but I took the trouble to find the newspaper in the letterbox. ‘Polling …. Likes structure, clarity. This is lacking in Italy.” She then gives the example of not knowing when she’s going to leave for a tournament that will take place within two weeks (I earlier concluded she meant Worlds, but that’s not explicit). ‘Motherhood made her more flexible. ‘I could not have handled that uncertainty and slow organization 8 years ago.” Mocking: In Italy I know precisely where I am at, and that is that I don’t know where I am at”.

I’m oldfashioned, I read it in a newspaper

In a newspaper interview Polling mentioned how unorganized the Italian Federation is. For instance, it was not long before the Worlds, but she had no information about the travel arrangements. She’s suffering from ADHD, so needs certainty and structure. But strangely enough the total lack of structure works for her. I assume because if you expect nothing, you can never be disappointed.

It certainly paid off, with Polling winning twice, including the decider, against us. Just saw an interview, where she said that when the draw made clear these two teams would meet, she had a premonition that she would have to fight twice.

Smart. She did not mention that in the interview I read. You should not count her out; she’s not a clear medal favorite, but if she has her day and with a little bit of luck with the draw and how the tournament develops, she could go far. in the early part of her career she really was a whirlwind, ending fights within seconds. But somehow she never managed to win a big medal.

Polling is of course no longer at the top of her game. Also, she was very successful at Europeans, but somehow never at Worlds. On her day she can go far in Paris, but there is a reason she’s now starting for Italy: she hasn’t been the Dutch number one for years.

It has really only been the last few weeks we came anywhere near the 2nd quotum. The fact we had 3 riders in the semi final at Worlds this weekend certainly helped.

Who’s stopping us?

Speedskating?

NL seems to have been promoted to a second male quotum, at the expense of GB.

Thoughts and prayers

The Canadian was unlucky too lose her bronze medal match. The Dutch commentators could not understand why she did not get the score and why her opponent did not get any shidos.

This should lead to instant disqualification for impersonating.

Van Lieshout the first Dutch female World Championship since 2009 (when Marhinde Verkerk won in Rotterdam).

If the history of the first two oqt’sis respected, Italy will definitely qualify. In both those tournaments the Dutch team beat the qualifying team in the group fase.

First Dutch sprint canoeing quota since 1992.