Chaos took over the ice at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics! On February 11, in the men’s 1,000 m speed skating race, athletes were speeding approx 55 km/h when Dutch star Joep Wennemars and Chinese skater Lian Ziwen collided on the ice. Soon after, the crowd went silent as tension ran high, but the heat’s result suddenly became uncertain when one skater was disqualified.

The incident happened after a turn, as both athletes prepared to change lanes. Wennemars, skating on the outside, had the right-of-way. Lian, moving from the inner lane, accidentally clipped Wennemars’ skate, causing both to lose speed. Officials quickly reviewed the collision and disqualified Lian Ziwen in Pair 11.

Under the rules, a skater switching lanes must not interfere with a racer on the outside. However, the DQ was race-specific and did not result in a long-term ban, so Lian remained qualified for upcoming events.

Just after the race, Lian approached Wennemars to apologize, but the Dutch skater, visibly frustrated, rejected the gesture.

Wennemars raised his arms at the finish line… his face filled with anger, and the crowd erupted in boos.

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Lian stayed calm, telling reporters in the mixed zone, “I understand his feelings. Every athlete has a tough time. I’m truly sorry.”

Race officials then granted Wennemars a re-skate about 20-30 minutes later.

Skating alone, and after already giving his all in the first run, he struggled to match the fastest times and finished fifth overall.

Reflecting afterward, Wennemars said the collision was a “tearing apart of dreams” of his Olympic medal hopes.

Lian also shared his side.

“If I noticed him in front or to the side, I would have actively avoided him. No athlete has malicious intent.”

Yet, for Wennemars, the collision felt devastating: “I was just skating my own route when I was suddenly blocked. At that moment, all my efforts were in vain.”

Based on his original time of 1:07.58 before the collision, Wennemars was only 0.24 seconds off the bronze medal pace, suggesting he likely would have contended for at least bronze or maybe higher. Still, even his best time wouldn’t have beaten gold medalist Jordan Stolz’s Olympic record of 1:06.28, nearly half a second ahead of silver and almost a full second faster than Wennemars’ potential. Interestingly, Stolz and Wennemars have a competitive history.

Joep Wennemars still has plenty of ice to conquer

Jordan Stolz and Joep Wennemars’ competition has deep roots. In March 2025, Wennemars ended Stolz’s two-year reign as world champion in the 1,000 m at the World Single Distances Championships. Joep took gold, Stolz earned bronze, and another Dutch skater joined them on the podium. It was a clear signal that high-stakes battles between the pair were already underway.

The two also faced off repeatedly on the World Cup circuit leading into the Olympics, with Stolz maintaining a long unbeaten streak in the 1,000 m. “It’s not like it’s different from any other race,” Stolz said. “It is just the fact you waited the last four years to finally get here again, and you get one shot to try and battle, which I was able to do. Just [a] feeling like no other..” Even with his record-breaking competitor ahead, Wennemars’ story was far from over.

Well, at just 23, Wennemars still has time to chase his dreams and build on his achievements. He already has an impressive track record: he won the 2022 World Junior Speed Skating Championships at the Eisschnelllaufbahn in Innsbruck, Austria, and made his ISU Speed Skating World Cup debut later that year in Stavanger, Norway, finishing seventh in the 500 m in Division B and earning a promotion to Division A.

He didn’t stop there. At the second World Cup event in Heerenveen’s Thialf arena, he finished second in Division A behind Ning Zhongyan, setting a personal record of 1:08.08. These milestones show that even setbacks like Milan are just part of a young athlete’s journey and for Wennemars, the future is wide open.