>But even in the Netherlands, there are signs of speedskating’s lack of standing in world sport. Thialf is not in Amsterdam or Rotterdam, but Heerenveen, a town of about 30,000 in the pastoral northern province of Friesland, which can feel set apart from the rest of the country. It is the equivalent of TrackTown USA in Eugene, Ore.

Whoever wrote this piece has absolutely zero understanding about the Netherlands. Thialf is in Friesland because Friesland has the biggest skating history in the Netherlands, with the Elfstedentocht, which is a legendary skating event, and a lot of lakes and canals where people skate every winter (if the weather allows for it).

It's also the third fastest track in the world, not some amateur skating rink.

They remained friends after the divorce, and continued to work together. The reason for the divorce was the enormous amount of care needed for her husband, effectively reducing her to caregiver and pushing her into a depression. Ironically enough, Hawking then married his actual caregiver.

Turkey is just doing Russia a solid. All the rest is just window dressing. Sowing discord between NATO allies is basic Russian playbook and Erdogan is on good terms with Putin. Denying Sweden entry into NATO is good news for Russia and Erdogan can use it to look strong in his own country. Simple quid pro quo disguised as a dispute. Just look how quickly turkey switched from "Kurdish terrorist harboring" to "holy book burning". When that narrative has run its course they'll think of something else. Because the end goal is not to get what Erdogan wants, the goal is to deny Sweden what they want. That will be the only constant in this story.