A year after her farewell to skating, Ireen Wüst started working as a lifestyle coach at Topsport Noord, one of the regional top sports centers in the Netherlands. The most successful Dutch Olympian of all time will guide talented athletes from different sports on their way to a life as a top athlete.
“The road to the absolute top in the sport is usually long, hard and full of obstacles,” says 36-year-old Wüst on Thursday in conversation with Schaatsen.nl. “I still had to discover what it meant to really live like a top athlete, with everything that comes with it. I like to share my experience with the top athletes of the future.”
At Topsport Noord, Wüst will be the first point of contact for young athletes and their family members. She will also be present at training sessions. “This role is made for her,” says director Evert Jorritsma. “The fact that someone with so much experience now wants to dedicate himself to young talents and future champions is very good news for top sport in the Northern Netherlands.”
Last year, Wüst already started working as a top sports mentor for the skating team TalentNED of her former coach Gerard Kemkers. In addition, she was seen on television last skating season as an analyst for the NOS.
Wüst may also play a role in the KNSB skating association in the future. “We will initially spar with each other periodically about the future of long track skating,” says technical director Remy de Wit.
Wüst won six Olympic gold medals, making him the most successful Dutch Olympian ever. The Brabant woman won her first gold medal at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin at the age of nineteen. She said goodbye last year after winning gold in the 1,500 meters at the Beijing Games.
