Gold medals go a long way in making up for a chronic lack of political and economic clout. For a country its size, the Netherlands had achieved considerable sporting success. The fact that people outside the country are not particularly interested in speed skating is of strictly secondary importance. Double Olympic medallist Gianni Romme is a famous sports personality, at least in his own country. Everyone skates in Holland, where an excess of water and a lack of snow combine to make for ideal skating conditions during the winter freeze.
Pea soup is the staple diet of skaters who ride long-distance treks past windmills and dykes.
Skating is a long-established tradition in Holland. Even in old paintings by masters such as Anton Pieck, there is always a skater gliding through some corner of the frame. Skating has a strong folkloric aspect to it. Spectators at the major championships are usually less interested in the lap times that nevertheless determine the outcome. They drink beer and Beerenburger, a herbal spirit distilled in the northern province of Friesland.