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Kramer pays for costly error
Source: Agencies |
February 25, 2010, Thursday
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IF ever there was a blunder of Olympian proportions, this was it. Sven Kramer lost the Olympic gold medal on Tuesday when coach Gerard Kemkers sent him the wrong way on a changeover during the 25 laps of the 10,000-meter speedskating race - a mistake so elementary, it defies belief.
"It is a disastrous error," said Kemkers, still in shock because his faulty instructions had Kramer disqualified and moved Korea's Lee Seung-hoon from silver to gold.
Kramer had not lost a 10,000 in three years, making him the prohibitive favorite to win - until the inexplicable happened. Every lap, a skater moves from the outside lane to the inside lane, or vice versa, for a changeover to make sure everybody skates the same distance.
Almost never is there a problem. But sometimes the skater can get into such a zone of focus on his style and pace that the mind becomes blurred.
"You are thinking a lot of things in your race. It is a mental fight for 25 laps," said defending champion Bob de Jong, who won bronze because of Kramer's disqualification.
"This is unprecedented in an Olympic Games," United States coach Derek Parra said.
Kemkers was busy writing "Difference Lee 29" - speedskating code to show how Kramer's race was progressing - when, in a split second, he lost his way. He looked up, didn't realize that Kramer had already moved outside, and thought his skater had to move inside instead. Not fully convinced, he looked back and saw skater Ivan Skobrev, who had cut inside early in the changeover, and presumed the Russian had to move outside. Wrong again.
With Kramer approaching the red cone at the end of the changeover, Kemkers desperately pointed him inside with one finger while Kramer was making the right decision to move to the outside lane.
With one leg over the cone, he cut the corner. Suddenly, Kemkers realized that Skobrev was now in the same lane, and despair descended on him. He flung open his arms wide and shouted at the Russian coach behind him in hope of hearing Kramer was OK. The Russian coach did not even acknowledge him.
Kemkers looked at the other side of the track again and it dawned on him. He bent over with his arms on his legs, and wiped his eyes. Then, he just stared into oblivion as even the stadium clock became confused because of the mixup.
The thousands of Dutch fans in the stands were increasingly befuddled that their biggest star, the man who was to turn Vancouver into Svencouver with three gold medals, could miss out on his second title.
Kramer, who cruised to the 5,000m gold earlier, sat despondently on a bench, his head down and elbows on his knees before telling reporters: "I am furious. It's a matter of concentration. Not a concentration failure on my side. It was the best 10,000m I have ever skated. I am mad with the coach and I will have a conversation with him."
"It is a disastrous error," said Kemkers, still in shock because his faulty instructions had Kramer disqualified and moved Korea's Lee Seung-hoon from silver to gold.
Kramer had not lost a 10,000 in three years, making him the prohibitive favorite to win - until the inexplicable happened. Every lap, a skater moves from the outside lane to the inside lane, or vice versa, for a changeover to make sure everybody skates the same distance.
Almost never is there a problem. But sometimes the skater can get into such a zone of focus on his style and pace that the mind becomes blurred.
"You are thinking a lot of things in your race. It is a mental fight for 25 laps," said defending champion Bob de Jong, who won bronze because of Kramer's disqualification.
"This is unprecedented in an Olympic Games," United States coach Derek Parra said.
Kemkers was busy writing "Difference Lee 29" - speedskating code to show how Kramer's race was progressing - when, in a split second, he lost his way. He looked up, didn't realize that Kramer had already moved outside, and thought his skater had to move inside instead. Not fully convinced, he looked back and saw skater Ivan Skobrev, who had cut inside early in the changeover, and presumed the Russian had to move outside. Wrong again.
With Kramer approaching the red cone at the end of the changeover, Kemkers desperately pointed him inside with one finger while Kramer was making the right decision to move to the outside lane.
With one leg over the cone, he cut the corner. Suddenly, Kemkers realized that Skobrev was now in the same lane, and despair descended on him. He flung open his arms wide and shouted at the Russian coach behind him in hope of hearing Kramer was OK. The Russian coach did not even acknowledge him.
Kemkers looked at the other side of the track again and it dawned on him. He bent over with his arms on his legs, and wiped his eyes. Then, he just stared into oblivion as even the stadium clock became confused because of the mixup.
The thousands of Dutch fans in the stands were increasingly befuddled that their biggest star, the man who was to turn Vancouver into Svencouver with three gold medals, could miss out on his second title.
Kramer, who cruised to the 5,000m gold earlier, sat despondently on a bench, his head down and elbows on his knees before telling reporters: "I am furious. It's a matter of concentration. Not a concentration failure on my side. It was the best 10,000m I have ever skated. I am mad with the coach and I will have a conversation with him."
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