Winter Olympics 2022: 'My reputation on the line' - Ice maker Mark Messer denies Dutch speed skating claims

ByLewis Mason

Updated 10/02/2022 at 11:30 GMT

Mark Messer says his words have been "twisted" after the sport was plunged into controversy with claims of favourable treatment towards the Dutch team in Beijing. Swedish champion Nils van der Poel likened the situation to doping, but Messer insists the conversation being reported is far from what happened and worries his reputation could be compromised as he works on his sixth Winter Olympics.

Canadian ice maker Mark Messer has denied being influenced by the Dutch speed skating team to make conditions more favourable for their skaters at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, and says the allegations threaten his career, with his reputation “on the line”.

The controversy started after a website in the Netherlands quoted Dutch team scientist Sander van Ginkel, who gave details of a conversation he had with Messer ahead of the Games, where he shared tests and measurements from his own research.

"By showing how I came up with my measurements, I hope to convince Messer and his people of my ideas. What I mainly try to do is to give them new information. For example, he now knows that the ice temperature is slightly above zero just after a resurfacing break," van Ginkel was quoted as saying.

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"Messer understands that I share things like this with him because our team can benefit from it when the conditions are optimal. Look, ultimate responsibility for the ice remains with Messer at all times. By naming things and continuing to insist on adjustments that are in our favour, we can achieve something more."

Speaking in response to these claims at his hotel in Beijing, Messer told Reuters: “The actual conversation that goes with that picture is me telling him not to come back, because I'm not going to tell him anything that I'm not going to tell every other country. But they have twisted this around."

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Messer is working at his sixth Winter Olympics and is worried that the controversy could impact on his career:

It's my reputation on the line.

After , Swedish champion Nils van der Poel called the situation “the biggest scandal in our sport” and said it is as worrying as cases of doping.

“I want to say I have the biggest respect for the Dutch speed skaters and the ice makers in the oval but we have to discuss fair play in our sport and this is far from fair play, this is corruption," said van der Poel.

Seeing the reaction from across the sport, Messer said: “I'm very upset with this story and the way it's developed."

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