Dec 29, 2023 at 5:10 AM Update: an hour ago
Joy Beune won her first major title at the NK distances on Thursday at 1,500 meters. The 24-year-old skater gave the perfect answer to the commotion that arose after she forgot her transponders at the World Cup in Poland.
After the finish of the final stage of the 1,500 meters, Beune covers her mouth with both hands in the middle area of Thialf. Less than a second later she falls jubilantly into the arms of her teammate and good friend Robin Groot.
“Gold, that doesn’t make any sense at all, does it?” Beune says half an hour later with a big smile. “I haven’t quite realized that I have won yet. I still have to let it all sink in.”
The all-rounder of Team IKO won one prize after another during her junior years, but with the seniors she developed into the woman who always finished fourth. In addition, she stood out twice this year due to a mistake that led to the disqualification of the Dutch pursuit team. At the World Championship distances in March, her ankle was visible even though that is not allowed. And three weeks ago she did not wear the mandatory transmitters for timekeeping at the World Cup in Tomaszów Mazowiecki.
With an impressive 1,500 meters, Beune put a big end to those stories on Thursday evening in Heerenveen. With a time of 1.53.91 she was less than a second above the track record. More importantly: the Bornse was more than half a second faster than Marijke Groenewoud (silver in 1.54.47) and reigning world champion Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong (bronze in 1.54.59).
“My coaches told me today that I had to let my legs do the talking,” says Beune. “I am very happy that we succeeded.”
Beune suffered a lot after a misstep
Beune was disappointed a day or two after her misstep in Poland. Then she put it aside. “That transponder was no longer relevant, because there was a National Championship coming up that I had to focus on,” she says. “And where I wanted to show what I can do.”
Of course, it did not escape her notice that the incident received a lot of attention in the media. “A lot came at me, because quite a bit was said and written about me in the press. But you know what it is? The whole media thing didn’t really interest me. The only thing that interested me was that I was okay with the national coach and with the other girls from the pursuit team. Because they trust and count on me.”
Beune spoke several times with national coach Ritsma and teammates Groenewoud and Irene Schouten, first in Poland and later also in the Netherlands. “The girls encouraged me. They said: ‘It was just bad luck. We know that you were busy with your ankles before your race and that’s why you forgot your transponders. Shit happens.’ And now it’s a thing of the past. We have trained together again and will also compete in the European Championships together.”
Beune also received a lot of support from her teammates and coaches at Team IKO. “In the beginning we had to patch her up,” says coach Erik Bouwman. “But at the first ice training after returning from Poland I saw the old Joy again.”
“And now she has finally won a real top prize,” Bouwman continues. “It’s nice to end all the transponder nonsense this way. And this is only the beginning for Joy, I’m convinced. We’re going to see a lot of beautiful things from her.”
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2023-12-29 04:10:16
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