Dutch short track speed skater Sjinkie Knegt seeks daily improvement for Beijing 2022

BEIJING - Dutch short track speed skater Sjinkie Knegt strives for daily improvement after coming back from two horrific injuries to prepare for the upcoming Beijing Winter Games, according to the International Skating Union (ISU).

"I am happy I came this far, but I still hope to improve and get better in the future," Knegt said.

Knegt, who clinched a bronze in the 1,000m at the 2014 Sochi Games and a silver in the 1,500m at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, mentioned the Beijing 2022 Olympics as the biggest goal for the upcoming season, but admitted last season [2020/21] was far from easy.

"I simply love racing and if you can't race, that is pretty hard. I had moments where the motivation was completely gone because we didn't know when we would skate or have a competition."

During that time, Knegt built his own ice rink in his backyard with the help of one of his sponsors and Dutch skaters Kjeld Nuis, Dai Dai Ntab, and Suzanne Schulting.

At the 2021 ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Dordrecht (NED), Knegt helped the Dutch men's team to the World Relay title and finished 14th in the Overall Classification. "It felt great to be back on the world stage after missing the World Championships twice," he said.

The Dutch star returned to the ice a year ago after being sidelined for more than a year. He suffered severe burns in January 2019 and had to be hospitalized for seven weeks.

"Since then, my biggest motivation was to show the world that it's possible to come back on the highest level after a hard injury like I had. Last year, I made my comeback at the World Cup in Dordrecht and it went pretty well, but there is always room for improvement."

He said he's been working on those improvements since his appearance at the 2020 ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating event in Dordrecht.

"It has been hard to get back on the level I was always competing at before. It took a lot of time. I am happy I came this far, but I still seek for [daily] improvements. I hope to do even better in the future."