Olympic speed skater Sjinkie Knegt found himself at the center of controversy not once but twice for his behavior towards his Korean opponents.
In 2014, Sjinkie Knegt was photographed giving two middle fingers to Viktor Ahn, a former South Korean speed skater who became a naturalized Russian. The Russian team beat the Dutch team for the gold medal in the 5000-meter team relay event.
His unsportsmanlike conduct led the Dutch team to be disqualified from the team relay event at the European Championships in 2014. He also lost his bronze medal in the individual event. After returning to the Netherlands, the athlete apologized for his actions. Knegt said, “Of course I’m sorry,” and that it was done “out of emotion and frustration”.
4 years later, at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Knegt lost to another Korean skater (Lim Hyo Jun) in the 1500-meter event.
Although Knegt didn’t blatantly flip the bird this time, he appeared to be sneaking in a middle finger in Lim Hyo Jun’s direction while standing on the podium.
Afterward, Knegt told news outlets, “It looked like I put up the middle finger. It’s not intended … I just looked very bad in the photo, but it was not on purpose. I was just holding the medal.” According to The Korea Times, many Koreans remain unconvinced, given Knegt’s previous controversy.
Source: The Sydney Herald Morning
