Carlijn Schoutens Debuts Olympic Career

Carlijn Schoutens (Heemstede, Netherlands) opened the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 for Team USA speed skating with a 22nd place finish in the women’s 3000m at the Gangneung Oval.

Skating in the seventh pair alongside Canadian Brianne Tutt, Schoutens finished the 3000m in 22nd place with a time of 4:15.60.

"I was expecting a little bit of a faster time for myself," Schoutens said. "My goal was to have my best race of the season at a sea-level track and I fell short of that a little bit."

Her best 400m split was 32.39 seconds early in the race.

The women’s 3000m was Schoutens’ first event at a Winter Olympic Games. She will be competing in the 5000m on Friday, February 16.

"It's been amazing coming here in the Olympic Village with everything so perfectly organized by the South Korean organization," Schoutens said. "It has been really amazing, and to race on this first day in my first-ever Olympics, I was so excited for it and still am. It was an experience of a lifetime."

For results, post-race interviews and other media information, visit the US Speedskating Media Page.

Long track continues on Sunday, February 11 with the men's 5000m. Live coverage of the race will be streamed on nbcolympics.com beginning at 2 a.m. ET (4 p.m. local time).

Quotes from Carlijn Schoutens

• "I was expecting a little bit of a faster time for myself. My goal was to have my best race of the season at a sea-level track and I fell short of that a little bit. I’m still processing where exactly we have to look for that answer but my first reaction is definitely a little bit disappointed."
• "It’s been amazing coming here in the Olympic Village and everything so perfectly organized by the South Korean organization. It has been really amazing, and to race on this first day in my first-ever Olympics, I was so excited for it and I still am. It was an experience of a lifetime."