Speedskater Marianne Timmer says her heel is healing well and she could be skating again soon

Timmer says heel is healing, could be skating soon

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Speedskater Marianne Timmer said Monday she could be back on the ice again in two weeks after tests showed that bones she broke in her heel in a fall last month have already fused back together.

Timmer told Dutch daily De Telegraaf that the results are “unbelievably good news” as she seeks to be fit again in time for the Vancouver Olympics.

“Now we are going to monitor day by day how much I can increase the workload on my leg,” Timmer said. “But the way it looks now I hope to be on the ice again in two weeks.”

The 34-year-old three-time Olympic gold medallist shattered her left heel in a Nov. 13 fall at a World Cup meet in Heerenveen after Chinese skater Jing Yu fell in front of her.

Jing’s fall sent Timmer sprawling over the ice, and she screamed in pain as she slammed into inflatable barriers lining the oval.

Timmer’s coach Jac Orie said after the crash that the injury almost certainly would rob the skater of a chance to appear in her fourth straight Winter Games.

Timmer won the 1,000 meters and 1,500 meters at the 1998 Nagano Olympics and the 1,000 meters eight years later in Turin, Italy.