ROLLER SPEED SKATING Summer Youth Olympics 2018

Summer Youth Olympics 2018 

ROLLER SPEED SKATING

BUENOS AIRES - Dutch roller speed skater Merijn Scheperkamp and his teammate Marit van Beijnum get a year-round adrenaline rush splitting time between ice rinks and roller tracks

The Netherlands’ Merijn Scheperkamp spent six months training on the ice in preparation to face the world’s best roller speed skaters under the Argentinian sun.

Scheperkamp and his teammate Marit van Beijnum just might be the only competitors at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games who combine elite-level speed skating on ice for half the year and roller speed skating the other half.

“After a winter of only ice skating, you really want to just have a new touch and a new experience. I really look forward to the inline season,” Scheperkamp said.

“I think the combination of both gets me where I am now. I don’t think that it would work for me to only cycle in the summer and do the ice skating training.”

Most roller speed skaters typically train in the off season by skating, weightlifting and cycling, but Scheperkamp switches surfaces to be able to compete all-year round.

“It’s just a better way to skate, have fun and compete,” he said. “It’s an adrenaline rush, it gives you so much energy and so much confidence. It gives me a kick.”

Scheperkamp, 18, started ice skating when he was seven years old and was introduced to inlines four years later, deciding at that point to alternate between the two sports.

The equipment used for roller speed skating is often referred to as inline skates, or inlines (OIS Photos)

Shortly after fighting for a medal this week in a sport that makes it Olympic debut in Buenos Aires, Scheperkamp will swap his wheels for blades and get back on the ice, where he is one of the top junior speed skaters in the Netherlands.

“I have different coaches on ice and here, and they both work really well together and support it. So I really, really like that from them,” he said.

“We’ve seen it with the Mulders (Dutch twins Ronald and Michael Mulder), who can win Olympic medals on ice and be world champions on inlines. Both ways can work, there’s no perfect way.”

Scheperkamp thinks the differences between the two sports hone different skills.

“Ice skating is so technical, it’s really in the details. On wheels I’d say it’s lots of technique, but it’s also a lot of power and being explosive - just go for the gaps and be quick.”