Every skater has ups and downs, in a competition, in a season and in a career. Today we celebrate five skaters who fought their demons to get #UpAgain during the last Olympic season.
5. Laurent Dubreuil (CAN) turns it around
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Laurent Dubreuil (CAN) competes during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (CHN) @GettyImages
For Dubreuil the 1000m silver medal meant redemption too. The 29-year-old Canadian is a true 500m specialist, who gradually grew into a title contender at major international tournaments over the past couple of years.
Heading into the Olympic Games as World Cup leader, he was the red hot favorite for the 500m title. Finishing in 34.52s, Dubreuil had had to settle for fourth place, however, at just 0.03 seconds from the podium.
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Laurent Dubreuil (CAN) competes during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (CHN) @GettyImages
Turning it around is exactly what Dubreuil did in the 1000m. After exploding from the start, Dubreuil nearly collided with pair-mate Kai Verbij (NED), who had to come upright to avoid trouble at the final change-up.
Dubreuil appreciated Verbij’s move, saying: “He's world champion in the 1000m like I was in the 500m, and to not get on the podium, I know exactly how it feels. I can't say thank you enough to him. It was a really professional and classy move to do.”
Laurent Dubreuil (CAN) poses with Thomas Krol (NED) and Haavard Holmefjord Lorentzen (NOR) during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (CHN) @GettyImages
His 1:08.32s was not good enough for gold, but silver surely felt like victory. Dubreuil said: "It was not a fun week”, he said, but his family back home made him to put his fourth place in the 500m into perspective: “My daughter especially helped me. She is just three years old and she doesn't care about my results. It made me realize, it's just sport. I didn't need a medal to be happy.”
4. Last chance redemption for Miho Takagi (JPN)
Miho Takagi (JPN) poses with Jutta Leerdam (NED) and Brittany Bowe (USA) during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (CHN) @GettyImages
Becoming World Allround Champion in 2018 and World Sprint Champion in 2020, Miho Takagi ((JPN) won almost every title in women’s Speed Skating, except for Olympic gold. At the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games, she started in all long track events apart from the 5000m and the Mass Start.
In the 3000m she took 6th place, in 1500m she came second behind an indomitable Ireen Wüst (NED), and in the 500m she had to bow her head for Jackson.
Miho Takagi (JPN) competes during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (CHN) @GettyImages
Japan’s title defense in the Team Pursuit ended up in tears, when Miho’s sister Nana crashed in the final. Miho took her third silver medal in Beijing and the 1000m was her final shot at gold.One might have thought that Miho’s versatility came at the cost of getting to the absolute top in one single distance, but she proved that all wrong shattering the Olympic record by a 0.37 margin in 1 minute 13.19s to take gold in the 1000m.
Miho Takagi (JPN) celebrates during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (CHN) @GettyImages
To Takagi, all Beijing 2022 medals were special: "For every event, I don't want to pick. I gave it my all in all my events. There have been lots of ups and downs for me, winning silver medals. To finally win the gold, I am happy, but I am happy not just for the medal, but because I could really give it my best today. That's why I am so content."
3. Gao Tindyu (CHN) lives up to four-year-old promise
Gao Tingyu (CHN) celebrates during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (CHN) @GettyImages
Whereas Dubreuil had to swallow disappointment after the 500m, Gao Tingyu (CHN) celebrated his personal #UpAgain moment in the shortest distance. The Chinese sprinter already won a bronze medal in the 500m as a 20-year-old prodigy during the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, but was not able to live up to his promise in the years thereafter. In late 2020 Gao even decided to return to his provincial team to recover from injuries and build up his form in order to return to the Olympics.
His move eventually paid off. Gao won his first World Cup gold in November, setting the fastest opener in Speed Skating history with 9.32 seconds in November in Tomaszów Mazowiecki (POL). Yet Gao’s path towards the home Olympics was far from flawless.
Gao Tingyu (CHN) competes during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (CHN) @GettyImages
After four World Cup events, the Chinese medalist only came in 17th in the ranking. In his Olympic race Gao thus had to start in the seventh of fifteen pairs already, but he set a high bar in a new Olympic record of 34.32s.
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Gao Tingyu (CHN) poses during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (CHN) @GettyImages
“The pressure is on them now," he said. Whether it was the pressure, or just his stunning pace, none of the remaining 16 skaters matched his time, and Gao fully lived up to the vow he had made himself four years ago, saying: "I made it, I said four years ago that I will win gold in Beijing 2022, and today I made it.”
2. Thomas Krol (NED): a dream come true
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Thomas Krol (NED) poses during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (CHN) @GettyImages
At age 29 Thomas Krol (NED) made his Olympic debut in Beijing. The Dutchman had narrowly missed out on Olympic qualification for the 2018 Games in PyeongChang, but ruled the middle distances together with Olympic 1000m and 1500m champion Kjeld Nuis (NED) since 2019.
Yet heading into summer training for the Olympic season in the spring of 2021, Krol lost confidence. His cycling test results didn’t match those of the year before and he started to doubt his abilities. Coming into the season Krol managed to shrug of his doubts winning the Dutch 1500m title in October and qualifying for the Olympic 1000m and 1500m in December.
Thomas Krol (NED) competes during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (CHN) @GettyImages
Reigning 1000m and 1500m champion and Krol’s nemesis Nuis missed out on a 1000m ticket for Beijing, but managed to qualify for the 1500m. Without Nuis at the start, Krol had a chance for gold in the 1000m and this time he would not have it taken away from him.
Following the advice of his supporting sports psychologist, he prepared by thinking through all possible scenarios in a ten minute routine the night before his race. Going into his race, Krol didn’t have any doubts, but after stopping the clock at 1:07.92, he went though about five difficult minutes watching the final to pairs race.
Thomas Krol (NED) competes during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (CHN) @GettyImages
Following the advice of his supporting sports psychologist, he prepared by thinking through all possible scenarios in a ten minute routine the night before his race. Going into his race, Krol didn’t have any doubts, but after stopping the clock at 1:07.92, he went though about five difficult minutes watching the final to pairs race.
Thomas Krol (NED) poses during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (CHN) @GettyImages
Only when Laurent Dubreuil finished in 1:08.32 in the last pair, Krol could finally celebrate his long-awaited gold. “In the 1500m I thought I had it, but I hadn’t and now I thought I didn’t have it, but I did,” he said. “Maybe it wasn't the perfect race, but it was a really good solid race. And of course the gold medal is just a huge dream come true.”
1. Erin Jackson (USA)’s fairy tale
Erin Jackson (USA) celebrates during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (CHN) @GettyImages
One day after Gao lived up to his own promise, Erin Jackson (USA) wrote another Olympic fairy tale in the women’s 500m in Beijing. The 29-year-old American became the first woman of color to take an Olympic speed skating medal, but she took a bumpy road to glory.
Jackson started her sports career as an inline skater and won seven World Championship medals from 2010-18. Following the footsteps of her senior Florida inline teammates Brittany Bowe (USA) and Joey Mantia (USA), Jackson made the transition from wheels to blades in 2016. Two years later she made her Olympic debut at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, ending up 24th in the 500m.
Erin Jackson (USA) competes during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (CHN) @GettyImages
Jackson had a breakthrough season in the run-up to the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games winning four 500m World Cup races. Yet, she almost missed out on Olympic qualification. At the US trials, she had a mishap at the start and placed in third, with the USA only having two available spots. Brittany Bowe (USA), who had won the race, decided to forfeit her spot in favor of her friend and teammate.
Jackson paid back Bowe’s faith winning the Olympic gold and she made her teammate proud. Bowe said: “She is a role model for so many people, and I think what she did tonight is going to be a springboard to give so many little girls and boys the opportunity to look up to someone that they haven't been able to look at and relate to. So that goes far beyond what any of us could imagine, how many people, specifically little girls she's going to be touching. She's an incredible human, an incredible athlete."
