Femke Kok started with 0.22 seconds lead on the final distance, but Leerdam eventually won the tournament with 0.16 seconds lead. Our 21-year-old skater did win that same day on the 500 meters, in which Jutta Leerdam recorded the fourth time. That was a great performance by Kok, because after a false start she continued for about thirty meters. She wasted a lot of energy, which she lacked in the 1000 meters to secure the world title.
OG Hero Kok thinks she might have been world sprint champion if she hadn't had a false start at 500 meters.
"It wasn't made easy for me. All of a sudden a man came onto the track when I was already fifty meters away. I couldn't hear that it was a false start because the crowd was making a lot of noise," Kok told NOS. "This was my debut at the World Sprint Championships, so I can't complain with silver. I just had the feeling that I could have won as well."
