Katie Couric Mocked For Comments Made About Dutch Speed Skating Team

NBC anchor and Olympics commentator Katie Couric is being mocked for comments she made about the Dutch Olympic speed skating team.

KATIE COURIC MOCKED FOR DUTCH SPEED SKATING COMMENTS

The Dutch have long dominated the winter sport and Couric attempted to give a reason why their teams consistently reach the Olympic podium. “It’s probably not a news flash to tell you the Dutch are really, really good at speed skating,” she began. “‘Why are they so good?’ you may be asking yourself. Because skating is an important mode of transportation in a city like Amsterdam.”

Couric continued to explain that Amsterdam “has lots of canals that can freeze in winter. So, for as long as those canals have existed, the Dutch have skated on them to get from place to place, to race each other and also to have fun.”

While it sounds plausible, the Dutch canals have not frozen over in decades. Couric was quickly informed that the country’s dominance is because of the huge popularity that speed skating has as a sport in the Netherlands, as well as big investments in Olympic-level skating in the country.

Despite the comment being made on Friday during the opening ceremony, Couric has gained attention for her flawed view of the Netherlands. “You can’t make this up,” one Twitter user said. “NBC opening ceremony coverage. Katie Couric talks about why The Netherlands is so good at speed skating as The Netherlands enters the stadium. And this folks is why Americans are less bright about the rest of the world as they spread fake news!” The same user later added, “In summer us Dutch swim to work and grocery score via the canals. You’ll hear that next summer Olympics.”

Another Dutch user posted a photo of a group of speed skaters with the caption, “Rush Hour in the Netherlands.” And one more joked that, “The Dutch do NOT skate to work. Skating on clogs is too hard, even for us.”

Still, the Dutch already have earned two medals in speed skating in the 2018 Olympics. Kjeld Nuis and Patrick Roest of the Netherlands took gold and silver, respectively, in the Men’s 1500 meter relay, their times being 1:44:01 and 1:44:86. In the women’s 500 meter race, Yara van Kerkhof took home the silver medal behind Italy’s Arianna Fontana.