Suzanne Schulting: "Olympic gold medal – you can't get higher than that."

Suzanne Schulting claimed her first Olympic short track title in the 1000m at PyeongChang 2018.

But she was far from satisfied.

The Dutchwoman told Olympics.com late last year, "After I became an Olympic champion, I was like ‘Okay, now I have to prove to the world, and to myself, that I’m also able to win more.'

"I was really motivated to show everybody that I was also able to become European champion and world champion and get those World Cup titles. When you get a little taste of it, or you feel how it is to win the gold, you want more and more and more, and you’re addicted to it."

Suzanne Schulting: the dominant short track skater since PyeongChang

More and more and more would be a good summation of what Schulting has achieved after winning two medals at PyeongChang - 1000m gold and women's relay bronze.

She has a total of 20 medals from European Championships, 13 of them coming since PyeongChang.

Then there are the nine World Championships medals claimed since those Games, including sweeping all five golds at the 2021 edition on home ice in Dordrecht.

“It’s quite incredible what I did," she said of her haul at her home Worlds. "I think it was an amazing season and I was super happy with it, of course, and still super excited about it.

But that's all in the past for the 24-year-old who also dabbles in long-track speed skating, finishing third in the 2021 Dutch Sprint Championships.

"Now, I have to put my focus on this season, and everything starts at zero again. I want to go for gold at Beijing."

The Games have not quite gone to plan so far with Schulting crashing out in the semi-finals of the inaugural mixed relay while in front.

In the 500m, she took silver behind the sport's most decorated Olympian, Italy's Arianna Fontana.

She said afterwards, "When I crossed the finish line I was disappointed because I was doing such a great job but Arianna passed me in such an incredible way, as she has done many times in many races.

"I went, '[Expletive], not again.' I am happy with it but, of course, somewhere I am a little disappointed."

Schulting looked to have moved on from that disappointment as she started the defence of her 1000m crown, setting a new Olympic record time of 1:27.292 in her heat.

The quarter-finals are at 19:00 Beijing time (12:00 CET) with the semi-finals at 19:55 and the final due to start at 20:43.

Nothing is certain in short track, but Schulting will be after that Olympic magic once again.

“I think they are the most special events," she said of the Games. "For me, it’s the highest medal you can win. Olympic gold medal – you can’t get higher than that. It’s just really special, I think, for every athlete.”