Interviews with participants:
Renske Winters (Netherlands),
Q.- How old do you participate in competitions?
A.- I started competing when I was 19 years old. This is a fairly late age, but I still have one year to improve their results.
Q. - In what tournaments you have participated, and that won in his career?
A. - I won several Games among masters, 4 all-round tournament among masters, and this - my 5 victory in International MastersSprint Games. I have a few titles, I continue to compete and train young athletes in the Netherlands, they help me not to lose shape, and learn from me.
Q. - How do you assess your performance in these competitions?
A. - I was very happy to be in Kolomna, I heard a lot about Skating Center. I would like to win another tournament. The ice is very fast, I do not like slow ice, I like to compete in the sprint, so I was happy to be here. I broke mypersonal best for this type of ice. My result is almost as fast as in Calgary and Salt Lake City.
Q. - This is your fifth victory in the sprint competitions, how long do you plan to skate and how many titles you plan to win?
A. - When are competing at this age, every year you think – stay to skate or leave the sport. I'm sure that next year I will compete again. In next year All-round Games will be held in the Netherlands, so I just can not leave now. I will participate, every year I have a progress, skate a little faster than before. I remain, moreover, because I love skating. Sometimes I realize that it's time to retire, but I'm not ready yet to decide on such a move, so I will continue to skate.
Bart Seffinga (Netherlands),
A. - Speed skating I started quite late - I started when I was already 21 years old. Before that, I played football. But in football I'm not as good as in speed skating, so I switched to speed skating.
Q. - You first time in Kolomna?
A. - Yes, yes, I was the first time in Russia.
Q. - How do you like our city?
A. - Yes, I really liked it. Last year we were in Kazakhstan, and I thought that perhaps these two countries are similar. The food here is delicious, the people friendly, and here is a great stadium. Well, I really like Russia.
Q. - Tell us about your previous competitions.
A. - About the previous ones? Well, this is my fifth competition. BeforeKolomna we were in Astanalast year, and before that was Salt Lake City, Berlin, I also competed in the Netherlands. A couple of times participated in the races in Germany. And my main goal to qualify for the championship in Germany.And try to be a world champion in my age category. And I think I'm on the right way.
Q. - What you already have awards?
A. - Four times I was a world champion in my age category, 3 times I won in my age category at a distance of 500 meters, a couple of times was the second or third place at a distance of 500 meters, a couple of times, became the champion in the regional competitions. This seems to be my main awards.
Q. - Are you happy with today's results?
A. - Well, I would like to be a little faster. I'm pretty firmly in first place in the classification, on the last lap I thought, "Do not risk, you're already at the final segment." Well, if I took a chance, perhaps, the result would be better. But I am quite pleased with the result.
Thank you and good luck.