The incident on the runway in the men's 1,000 m speed skating event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics has turned Joep Wennemars' Olympic debut day into an unforgettable memory.
The 23-year-old Dutch athlete missed the opportunity to win a medal after a controversial collision with the Chinese representative.
The situation occurred when Wennemars was accelerating in the 11th lap and changing lanes at the curve. During the lane change, Lian Zhiwen touched the opponent's shoe blade, causing the Dutch athlete to lose his rhythm, slow down and wobble.
According to regulations, the carriage changer must ensure safety, so the referee determined that the fault belonged to Lian and sent off the Chinese athlete. Wennemars was given the opportunity to compete again after more than 20 minutes of waiting.
In the first round, he achieved a time of 1 minute 7.58 seconds, temporarily leading. However, when competing again in a state of physical decline, Wennemars only achieved 1 minute 8.46 seconds, thereby falling out of the medal-contending group. The moment he covered his face in disappointment after the finish line quickly spread on social networks.
The world champion in the 1,000 m event in 2025 admitted that the mental shock was greater than the failure in achievement.
He expressed his feeling of collapse when his Olympic dream broke down in his first participation, and at the same time refused to accept the opponent's apology. With his family, Wennemars said that he only wanted to leave the Olympics and return home, even though there are still two other competition events ahead.
In this race, Jordan Stolz (USA) won a gold medal with an Olympic record of 1 minute 6.28 seconds, Jenning de Boo brought home a silver medal for the Netherlands, and Ning Zhongyan won a bronze medal for China.
Wennemars' harsh reaction after the incident also caused controversy, when Chinese media said that his protest was unrestrained and Ning's result was completely deserved.
