Bart Swings talks about his thrilling victories

It’s the never-ending success story of first year senior Bart Swings. Impressive speed, technique, passes and team spirit. It’s ‘the Swings’ that everyone has in mind when thinking about the European Championships held in his home country of Belgium. Five gold medals collected by Bart and the amazing Belgian squad, time to hear his thoughts...

Bart Swings winning his fifth title of the tournament during the marathon race. Team mate Ferre Spruyt finishes third. Photo (C) TIMS

“Yes, it has been amazing. Of course I didn’t expect to win 5 golden medals in the first senior championship I skated. I knew though, that I had good chances of winning medals. But winning the first distance, the 1,000 meters, right away, meant a lot. It gave me the confidence to win the other 4 also.”

The relay race on the track was a race to be remembered long time. The Belgium squad, with the three CadoMotus athletes Ferre Spruyt and Bart and Maarten Swings, had a bad start and were almost half a lap behind the French, who exploded from the starting line. “I must admit, I thought we had lost the race. Maarten had a bad start, being touched by a competitor at the starting line, hitting the wet grass and struggling to get going.”

The thrilling relay victory. Photo (C) TIMS

“We knew the start would be crucial. What we feared got reality. We tried to get back in the race as soon as possible, but after my second relay we didn’t get any closer, while everyone of us went full speed. We just continued, although there was not much belief in my mind we still could do it. Four laps before the finish Maarten and Ferre caught the Italians and Dutch, but still 20 meters behind the French. After a huge relay from Ferre at the bell, I could catch Gauclin and I knew we were about to win.”

“The feeling when I crossed the line was indescribable. The big disappointment from the beginning of the race turned into the thrill of victory. I was the most exciting race of the tournament for me and my most beautiful win ever. Winning gold together with my brother and team mates is a fantastic thing.”

Proudly posing with his golden medal. Photo (C) TIMS

Winning the 1,000 meters, the points/elimination and relay on the track, the relay on the road and the marathon, the remarkable team effort from the Belgium squad was striking. “This year”, Swings says, “with the CadoMotus World Team, we learned how to dominate races, to follow our own plan, instead of just starting a race and see what happens. We gained a lot of experience racing with Shane Dobbin and DJ Nation. We tried to transfer this atmosphere to the Belgium team and I think we succeeded in doing this. We can all get along with each other very well.”

This team spirit was showed at its best during the marathon race, in which all 10 skaters did their job more than excellent. “I could not disappoint them because of their efforts. The last three laps were thrilling, when we were in the lead with the whole team. The spectators went crazy. It made me very nervous, the pressure to win this race was high. But during the whole race I knew we could win this one and in the end we succeeded.”

Characteristic Swings style. Smooth, easy.. but fast. Photo (C) TIMS

With a championship like this, beating World Champions like Contin and Francolini, some might expect a lot from the coming World Championships. “There is a difference between Europeans and Worlds. A whole lot more good skaters will compete there. But with a strong team like we have, top five or even a medal could be realistic. This is what we are going to work for in the next weeks.”

Links:

Pictures at CadoMotus' Picasa
All results
1,000 meters final video
Points/elimination final video
3,000 meters relay track video
5,000 meters relay road video
marathon video