Falls, they are inextricably linked to the game of shorttrack. Normally they are painful for the soul and the body, but after a long period such a fall can also turn out just right. On Friday, that was the case with Jens van ‘t Wout.
The men’s world number one came through most of his races flawlessly, but could not avoid a fall in the 500 metres. He was on his way to launch an attack on the lead Korean Daeheon Hwang when his skate broke away. “With two kamikazes in my back, I knew it was done,” Van ‘t Wout said afterwards. At that distance, he was condemned to the resits held on Saturday morning. “Bales me a bit, but otherwise it went well,” he said.
Van ‘t Wout has been the worry child of national coach Niels Kerstholt in recent months. The man from Sint Johannesga was struggling with a nasty ankle injury, which meant he could do less work and was kept out of competition for a while. Much to the annoyance of the man himself, who prefers to put in hours on the 111-metre track. The special shoe made by equipment man Kip Carpenter ensures that Van ‘t Wout no longer has to worry about his injury at all, despite the fact that the recovery is not yet completely complete.
“Even falling didn’t hurt,” Van ‘t Wout explained about his foot. “A nice boost, for the first time since Korea I felt no pain after a fall. Testing with falling I have done often enough, today it felt good. A nice boost.” On top of that, the lack of race rhythm doesn’t seem to bother Van ‘t Wout much either. “I am fit,” he says. In the 1000 metres, he was able to test his fitness against William Dandjinou, the Canadian world champion. “Could pass him so easily, that still gives a good feeling.”
That Van ‘t Wout lost that ride was due to the diligent Irish rider looking for an ‘addition’ early on. “He was really looking for a penalty, that can fuck up your whole tournament,” he said. It immediately taunted him. “Steamed in the lead for six laps allowing Dandjinou to pass at the end. Was a bit angry with that Irishman, not quite riding tactically.”
Because of the fall, Van ‘t Wout has to go into action early Saturday morning in the resits for the 500 metres. “Three times tomorrow, warm-up during the resits for the main programme. That’s nice in itself. Going into that 1500 metres cold makes it even harder, you can’t do anything outside skating that generates that same acidification. That’s a stroke of luck, I guess.”
