Meet Dutch Speed Skater Irene Schouten

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The Winter Olympics are set to close on Sunday, but there is one exciting event making it’s debut before things officially shut down: mass start speed skating! The only thing you need to know about this version of speed skating is that it’s being billed as “NASCAR on ice” (via TeamUSA.org):

“The best way I could describe it would be NASCAR on ice,” said U.S. speedskater Joey Mantia. “There is bumping, there is drafting, there is strategy. … It’s definitely more exciting to watch than standard long-track races.”

So which non-American competitor are we going to push for this race? That would be the Netherlands’ Irene Schouten, who won gold in mass start at the 2015 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships.
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Seriously. Leave your American pride at the doorstep for this one, Irene is like the Dutch skating version of Dominic Toretto based on this quote on her Olympics profile:

Motto is, “When everything’s under control, you’re going too slow.”

Additional notes on Irene:

— Her listed hobby is “going out for dinner.” Interesting.
— Previously dabbled in figure and inline skating
— Gold is the ultimate goal at PyeongChang

Meet Gabby Daleman — Canadian Figure Skater
Meet Gabby Daleman — Canadian Figure Skater