Team IKO strengthened itself on Friday with Bart Swings. The 29-year-old Belgian completes the skating team of coaches Erwin and Martin ten Hove for the coming season.
“The whole picture suits IKO. Erwin and Martin have a lot of knowledge and are open to cooperation,” Swings, who has mainly trained individually in recent years, tells Schaatsen.nl.
“This is the ideal time for me to join a Dutch team. It is a special step for myself and I am very much looking forward to being part of a team.”
Allrounder Swings captured Olympic silver in the mass start in 2018, making him the first Olympic medalist on behalf of Belgium since Bart Veldkamp in 1998. Earlier this year, he also became European champion in that area.
At the beginning of this month, Team IKO already announced that Jan Blokhuijsen and Letitia de Jong extended their contract with the team where Jorien ter Mors, Esmee Visser and Melissa Wijfje, among others, are also under contract.
The new skating season will normally start in October, although the program will depend on the development of the corona crisis.
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