CCB

Yes, but I didn't like it so much. It's near the Olympic flame (which was nice to visit). You better try to go to Team NL-house (Via Tortona, Superstudio Piu) this evening.

I was in the shorttrack-arena in Milan last Thursday. Still unbelievable what happened there. Two gold medals for in just 15 minutes time. I expected Velzeboer, but Van 't Wout: wow! I will never forget this historical evening for Dutch shorttrack. Now back home and watching tonight's shorttrack from the couch.

I think the Dutch men (especially in long distances) are simply not good enough. We've been leaders in long distances for decades, but we've always had great talents like De Jong, Romme, Bergsma, Kramer, and Roest. They're not around right now, so we're focusing more on short distances, but there's a certain Stolz who reigns supreme. What I've noticed is that many newcomers (Jilek, Lubineaud etc) originally come from inline skating. The Netherlands should look into that too. We also need to be open to new training methods, like those of the Swede Nils Svensson, who won two gold medals in Beijing with a unique training regime. Good luck with Ghiotto, I will definitely cheer for him: such a friendly person and a beautiful skater. He really deserves a gold medal.

"2. Netherlands will be off from previous speed skating highs" For sure, only in some women's events we can win gold medals, but I'm afraid won't even make the top 8 this time. But I like to be surprised by the short trackers, so who knows, maybe it will still work out well.

Do you think USA can beat Norway this time in the overall medal table? I mean, with Stolz's potential 5 gold medals there is a chance.

My schedule in Milan: February 8th Figure skating mixed competition February 9th Speedskating 1000 m women (Jutta ) February 10th Shorttrack mixed relay February 11th Speedskating 1000 m men February 12th Speedskating 5000m women Shorttrack 1000 men / 500 women February 13th Back home and tv on!

Muah, Bos does not have a great season so far. No podium, just a few top 10-finishes.

Men's speedskating - 1 silver, 1 bronze Women's speedskating - 3 gold, 3 silver, 3 bronze Men's shorttrack - 1 bronze Women's shorttrack - 1 gold, 1 silver Mixed - 1 silver 15 medals in total

Inzell is 693 m above sea level, so fast times almost guaranteed. But Eitrem was phenomenal today. Like Wiklund in the women's 3k. The will likely dominate the first weekend of the Games in speedskating.

I meant World Championships next year. We participate in the World Cup this summer, that's true. No, waterpolo is a very small sport in our country, unfortunately. But I think it is similar to handball. Volleyball is more popular.

Daan Kos (our best rider after Jens van 't Wout) is still injured and can't participate at the Olympic Games. Very sad for him (and our relay).

For the third time in a row, the Dutch men's team has lost a good result against a top team. First, they gave away the victory against Serbia , then had a poor final quarter against Hungary , and today they squandered an 11-7 lead against Montenegro (11-15). Today was the most important match. A win would have secured the World Cup and kept their chances of qualifying for the Olympics alive. Unfortunately, their next opportunity won't come until 2030/2032. The winner of the Georgia-Romania match will go to the World Cup. They were very lucky with the draw. I think our young team could have beat both of these teams.

On the women's side, the Dutch women performed well in the 500 meters. Selma Poutsma (2022 relay champion) set the fastest times, but was ultimately defeated in the final turn by Xandra Velzeboer (41.87) and Michelle Velzeboer (42.00). The 500 meters will be the most important distance for the Dutch women. They haven't been convincing in the longer distances.

There was hardly any competition. Sighel only competed in the 1000 meters and fell there, so Van 't Wout was able to win three titles unchallenged. In the relay, Italy was too strong. The third and fourth Dutch men (Emons and De Laat) are both weak links. Unfortunately, Daan Kos is still injured. He will likely miss the Olympic Games.

What bad luck for our talented water polo team. They lost 13-13 on penalties against Serbia. But what a uneven draw for the second round! In the second round, Groups A and C will meet. Five top countries and The Netherlands. Groups B and D will also meet. Only three top countries there. No chance for to qualify for next year's World Championship with this draw. Such a shame, because they are really getting good.