The question is not whether she will return; it is how strong Suzanne Schulting will be soon, when the hard work on and off the ice dominates her days again, heading into next winter. First the job of ankle fracture surgery in a week’s time. ‘It is not unrealistic to be back on the ice this summer,’ she reports herself on social media.
Her post is accompanied by photo. In it, Schulting, sitting on a hospital bed, has the plaster around her right leg cut for another examination. That shows that she will have to go under the knife (next Tuesday), followed by a solid recovery period. ‘I am very optimistic and confident that all will be well again,’ reads the accompanying text. The road back up may soon be set.
“I do want a lot, but is it wise?” It was a passage in the conversation with the three-time Olympic short track champion, following her successful comeback in Dresden. Dosed somewhat by a small handbrake, the tough Frisian had achieved an almost utopian score on her return to the World Cup. Three medals, all three of a different colour, were in her suitcase: gold in the women’s relay, silver from the 1,000 metres and a bronze, earned in the 1,500 metres. She could be proud, and so was Schulting. But looking ahead to the World Championships, well considered the only goal of her faltering season, she already felt motivation again, wanting to perform at the top level, wanted to take hold of her. Because a sports life without impossible challenges does not rhyme with the way Schulting lives her life.
