“Give them credit: The Dutch have chosen one of the few sports that a country of the Netherlands’ size could dominate, since only about five nations are even competitive in speedskating. The U.S.—which was very competitive in speedskating until this year, when it became obsessed with its wardrobe—only has a couple thousand competitive skaters of any age.”
“They have now won 16 speedskating medals at Adler Arena, breaking the previous record haul of 13 set by East Germany at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. And with favorites in three of the last four events, they figure to push the mark to heights that may never be seen again.
All by themselves, the Dutch skaters put their country atop the medal table in Sochi. Counting a bronze won in short track, the tiny country has 17 medals overall — one more than the United States and Russia had by Sunday night.”