"You certainly took a lot of flak," host Beau van Erven Dorens remarks, before introducing the footage and explaining it to viewers on RTL Tonight. He himself can't help but laugh again watching the clips. "I was somewhat enthusiastic, perhaps overly so. Stop it, Erben," he says, laughing at his past self in the footage from two weeks ago. "But this all has to do with that 1000-meter race. It really hit hard, for Joep too."

Wennemars senior emphasizes that his son was significantly affected by his botched 1000-meter race earlier in the Games. "A medal was snatched from him because he was knocked out by his opponent. That was so intense for him, as he had worked so incredibly hard for it." Wennemars junior had to do a re-skate and was given a second chance to compete for a medal. "As an athlete, he suddenly realized he was just a pawn in the grand scheme, expected to simply obey."

This report will be updated.

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Broken Glasses

It was one of the most talked-about moments during the recent Winter Olympics in Milan: analyst Erben Wennemars went wild after his son Joep Wennemars posted a strong time in the 1500 meters. In a moment of pure ecstasy, the jubilant Wennemars rushed towards a volunteer and embraced him so forcefully that the volunteer's glasses broke in two. "I had been sitting next to him for fifteen minutes already, talking about the race, so it didn't come out of nowhere."

Criticism

Erben apologized to the bewildered man, but that couldn't prevent the footage of the incident from going viral and drawing criticism for the former top skater. Many, including Johan Derksen, called it exaggerated and felt Wennemars was overreacting.

Not Enough for a Medal

Ultimately, Joep's time proved just shy of a medal. He finished fourth, having previously missed out on a medal in the 1000 meters due to significant interference from his opponent at the crossover.