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In a list made public before the trials, each of the starting points was ranked from 1 to 15 (mass starting was handled differently with participants selected by the skate federation). Once nine skaters of each gender have qualified according to the matrix, these skaters must be used to fill the remainder of the starting points, no matter how successful they are in qualifying races.
The second and third starting points for the distance were near the bottom of the matrix, as the men have performed relatively poorly in the 500 meters this season. Still, at the end of the qualifying tournament, N’tab was the eighth-placed Dutch skater. If the skating federation took the top nine male skaters – as did the women – N’tab would be qualified for Beijing.
Unfortunately for N’tab, as Sierksma emphasizes, the system is not absolute: It also leaves room for the human judgment that skate federation coach Remy de Wit chooses to apply. Neither Bosker nor Sven Kramer performed well enough in the trials to qualify for the Olympics, but their skills were found to be needed in mass start and team tracking events, so they were preferred over N’tab and Tijmen Snel. 1,500 meters.
Four years ago, Krol was on the short end of a similar choice conundrum.
He finished third in the 1000 meters in 2018 and has apparently secured his Olympic spot. But since Kai Verbij had already qualified in the 500m but was injured in the 1,000m race, the Dutch skating federation gave him Krol’s place so he could compete in both in Pyeongchang, South Korea. This pick made room for another skater for team pursuit.
“So, actually everybody was happy about it,” Krol said. “’Okay, someone can go for team pursuit, Kai is a good skater in the 1000, so he can go even if he’s injured. And Thomas, yes, we felt sorry for him.’”
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