By Pearl Josephine Nazare
MILAN, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Jorrit Bergsma will be 44 by the time the next Winter Games arrive but the Dutchman, who rolled back the years to claim the second Olympic gold of his career in Milan on Saturday, said his speed skating story is far from over.
“I do not know yet if I will be back in four years, but now I guess I have to defend my title, right?” said Bergsma, who stunned the field alongside Denmark’s Viktor Hald Thorup with a daring attack on the third lap of the 16-lap men’s mass start race.
The duo quickly built a commanding lead – at one point over half a lap – as the pack hesitated to respond. Sensing his moment, Bergsma launched another blistering move with a couple of laps to go, decisively shaking off Thorup to claim victory.
“I do not think I realise just yet what I have done. I even had to pinch myself when I was standing on the podium,” Bergsma said.
“Four years is going to be really tough, especially with the young guys coming up on the single distances. I will see year by year, but I am not done yet.”
Bergsma’s triumph added to an exceptional Olympic resume that includes 10,000m gold at Sochi 2014, silver at Pyeongchang 2018, bronzes in the 5,000m at Sochi and 10,000m at Milano Cortina.
“I had already won bronze, so my Olympic Games were already complete, but to be standing here with a gold medal as a 40-year-old guy is a privilege, even more so that I managed to do it in the mass start. I did not expect this at all,” he said.
For Bergsma, the number 13 proved anything but unlucky. He raced wearing helmet number 13, having won his 10,000m bronze on February 13.
“It has been my lucky number already. In the Netherlands, I am skating marathons with leg number 13. One week ago I won a bronze medal on Friday the 13th. And today I win with number 13. It is like magic for me,” he added.
With his birthday falling on February 1, Bergsma could celebrate turning 44 on the very day the 2030 Winter Olympics open – a fitting stage should he choose to chase yet another chapter in his remarkable career.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Milan; editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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