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Lara van Ruijven died today in a French hospital from an auto immune disease, she was just 27 years old. She was never someone who stepped into the limelight but she was invaluable to the Dutch national short track team. With her untimely death the sport has lost a world champion but also a modest, social and powerful human being.
Written by Lisette van der Geest and Rik Spekenbrink (translated by me)
Lara van Ruijven will be the first Dutch female world champion at short track. On the 9th of March she had the best skating day ever of her life, a dream had become reality. In Sofia van Ruijven won the 500 meter short track final. Lara, the shy woman and hard worker, once the shyest girl became in Bulgaria the best in the world at the shortest short track distance.
Laar was a very important to a very tight short track team, a team that is made up from the same members for years. The woman with a panther print on her glasses, the same pattern was on her helmet and clothing. Her love for panthers was how her teammates tried to support her in her fight to survive, they told her they loved her and added the hashtag "panterlara".
Van Ruijven and her team were in a training camp in the French Pyrenees when she got sick and had to be admitted to a hospital in Perpignan. The doctors said she was suffering from an immuno illness. Last weekend she suffered serious complications. Two operations did not help and she had internal bleeding and was kept in a comatose state. Throughout the week more complications happened and she was in critical condition. Her loved ones made it known through the Speed Skating organization that she belonged too, that they were hoping for a miracle. But sadly not, she died in the prime of her life, 27 years young.
Lara was never someone who wanted to be a "star". As a great short track talent she said in 2008 that she once hoped to be at the Olympics. But she was also really looking forward to ride in the world championships, to fight with the unbeatable Korean girls. At least that is what she said at age 15. She was never arrogant, not when she achieved her goal at skating at the Olympics. She never boasted about her bronze medal 4 years later as part of the relay race. And her attitude did not change either after becoming the first Dutch WC by defeating a Korean woman who was deemed to be unbeatable.
Lara grew up in Naaldwijk. She started as a speedskater but was also talented at field hockey and tennis. But her great passion was short track. She was selected for the national youth team and moved aged 17 to the skating capital of the Netherlands, Heerenveen. She grew into one of the best in her generation. Her motto was: fight to the finish line, it is never over until you pass the finish line. Her work ethos was obvious from her skating posture, shoulders deep down, a sign of strength and determination.
Her fighting spirit was also obvious at the Games in Peyongchang, one of the weirdest short track finals ever. She and the Dutch national team had fallen out of the running for the medals. They were skating in the B-final, the best of the rest so to speak. But Lara said they had to win the b-final to remain in the running for a medal (even though 5th was the best result the Dutch could achieve). The Dutch ladies won the b-final in a world record and were sitting at the side of the oval when China and Canada got disqualified in the final and the Dutch ladies were bronze medal winners. The surprise bronze was celebrated on the safety boards along the oval.
For the outsiders Lara was always in the shadow of her team mates. First it was Jorien ter Mors, for years the number 1 of the women's team. Then there was the success of Sjinkie Knegt and Suzanne Schulting. Her spot on the "shadows" was very obvious in Sofia where she became the first Dutch woman to win a world championship but her victory was eclipsed by the fact that her teammate Schulting won the all round world championship title in Sofia. Schulting got most of the attention. Her brother said that Lara is too modest and that she deserves her spot in the limelights. Lara herself said that she wasn't bothered with that. Wasted energy, I would never actively contact the media, it just doesn't feel natural to me.
Written by Lisette van der Geest and Rik Spekenbrink (translated by me)
Lara van Ruijven will be the first Dutch female world champion at short track. On the 9th of March she had the best skating day ever of her life, a dream had become reality. In Sofia van Ruijven won the 500 meter short track final. Lara, the shy woman and hard worker, once the shyest girl became in Bulgaria the best in the world at the shortest short track distance.
Laar was a very important to a very tight short track team, a team that is made up from the same members for years. The woman with a panther print on her glasses, the same pattern was on her helmet and clothing. Her love for panthers was how her teammates tried to support her in her fight to survive, they told her they loved her and added the hashtag "panterlara".
Van Ruijven and her team were in a training camp in the French Pyrenees when she got sick and had to be admitted to a hospital in Perpignan. The doctors said she was suffering from an immuno illness. Last weekend she suffered serious complications. Two operations did not help and she had internal bleeding and was kept in a comatose state. Throughout the week more complications happened and she was in critical condition. Her loved ones made it known through the Speed Skating organization that she belonged too, that they were hoping for a miracle. But sadly not, she died in the prime of her life, 27 years young.
Lara was never someone who wanted to be a "star". As a great short track talent she said in 2008 that she once hoped to be at the Olympics. But she was also really looking forward to ride in the world championships, to fight with the unbeatable Korean girls. At least that is what she said at age 15. She was never arrogant, not when she achieved her goal at skating at the Olympics. She never boasted about her bronze medal 4 years later as part of the relay race. And her attitude did not change either after becoming the first Dutch WC by defeating a Korean woman who was deemed to be unbeatable.
Lara grew up in Naaldwijk. She started as a speedskater but was also talented at field hockey and tennis. But her great passion was short track. She was selected for the national youth team and moved aged 17 to the skating capital of the Netherlands, Heerenveen. She grew into one of the best in her generation. Her motto was: fight to the finish line, it is never over until you pass the finish line. Her work ethos was obvious from her skating posture, shoulders deep down, a sign of strength and determination.
Her fighting spirit was also obvious at the Games in Peyongchang, one of the weirdest short track finals ever. She and the Dutch national team had fallen out of the running for the medals. They were skating in the B-final, the best of the rest so to speak. But Lara said they had to win the b-final to remain in the running for a medal (even though 5th was the best result the Dutch could achieve). The Dutch ladies won the b-final in a world record and were sitting at the side of the oval when China and Canada got disqualified in the final and the Dutch ladies were bronze medal winners. The surprise bronze was celebrated on the safety boards along the oval.
For the outsiders Lara was always in the shadow of her team mates. First it was Jorien ter Mors, for years the number 1 of the women's team. Then there was the success of Sjinkie Knegt and Suzanne Schulting. Her spot on the "shadows" was very obvious in Sofia where she became the first Dutch woman to win a world championship but her victory was eclipsed by the fact that her teammate Schulting won the all round world championship title in Sofia. Schulting got most of the attention. Her brother said that Lara is too modest and that she deserves her spot in the limelights. Lara herself said that she wasn't bothered with that. Wasted energy, I would never actively contact the media, it just doesn't feel natural to me.
