Wüst heads to her fourth Olympics only two medals shy of overtaking German Claudia Pechstein as the most successful Olympic speed skater and will race in four events: the 1,000 metres, 1,500m, 3,000m, and team pursuit.
“I think what makes Ireen really special is that she can perform at really big tournaments,” Arie Koops, technical director of the Dutch speed skating association, told Reuters.
“Most of the time in the beginning of the season, it’s hard for her, she needs more rest to feel really, really comfortable.”
“Sometimes you have athletes who compete almost the same in a training race or a big competition, but I think Ireen likes the pressure, she likes to compete in big tournaments.”
That attitude has seen Wüst, who hails from Goirle in the south of the country, claim eight Olympic medals, including four golds, and she will fight through the pain to succeed in South Korea, which will be her last Olympics.
Wüst is one of the most powerful women skaters in the world, but the power she generates has its drawbacks, chiefly when it comes to wear and tear on her muscles.
“Even though she has suffered with injuries … she will be ready again at the Olympics,” Koops said. “She has a little bit of injury in the muscles of her abdomen area, but she can skate with this.”
“I think it has to do with normal top sport injuries when you’re getting a little bit older. It gets harder to stay real fresh and you have injuries a little bit in your muscles. It takes longer to warm up.”
“It gets harder and harder when you get older. It’s nothing serious. She needs to work on it, but she will be ready for the Olympics.”
Former Olympic speed skating champion Bob de Jong, who raced in the Dutch teams with Wüst at the last three Winter Olympics, is in no doubt she will challenge for medals again in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
“It’s amazing how she can be focused on single races, focused on World Championships and during the Olympics,” he told Reuters from Seoul, where he is helping to coach the host nation.
“If you see the results, all her prizes, it’s unbelievable what she wins. In the right moment, she is more in shape than anybody else.”
“She uses a lot of power in her skating. That’s probably one of the reasons she can’t do it all season, but in the second part of the season, when the real prizes are, she is finally, every year, good.”
“It’s totally not easy to take a gold medal, but I’m pretty sure she will take a medal over there and is good enough for gold. It wouldn’t surprise me,” he said.