Nils van der Poel hates speed skating, still wins anyway; Ester Ledecka nears GOAT status – Best of Beijing
BEST MOMENTS OF DAY 7 Van der Poel doubles up in sport that 'sucks' Ad/> Being an elite athlete is an immense privilege, right? Or at least we thought so until Nils van der Poel revealed just how much he hates speed skating. Beijing 2022White seeks Brady advice, Norway cross-country drama, curling rivals bond — Beijing diaryAN HOUR AGO «When you are a professional athlete in a sport that sucks as much as speed skating sucks, you've got to find a way to make it suck a little less,» van der Poel said. «And whatever you can get inspired by you need to find that.» After a disappointing outing at PyeongChang 2018, Van der Poel found his inspiration in an unusual sabbatical which saw him join the Swedish army, run ultra-marathon and bike across Sweden.
