By Liz Roscher From Yahoo Sports

When it comes to trolling at the Olympics, the Dutch are gold medal winners.

First a pair of Dutch speedskating fans had a laugh at U.S. president Donald Trump’s expense.

Now they’re taking aim at American broadcaster Katie Couric after some incorrect assumptions she made about the country when it was introduced during the Opening Ceremony.

As the Netherlands entered the PyeongChang Olympic Stadium during Friday’s parade of nations, Couric shared a theory on why the Dutch are so good on the oval.

Here’s what she said:

“It is probably not a news flash to tell you the Dutch are really, really good at speed skating. All but five of the 110 medals they’ve won have been on the speed skating oval. Now, ‘Why are they so good?’ you may be asking yourselves. Because skating is an important mode of transportation in a city like Amsterdam which sits at sea level. As you all know, it has lots of canals that can freeze in the winters. 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.”

Speedskating is popular in the Netherlands and the Dutch dominate international competition, but frozen canals in Amsterdam are definitely not why. Yes, the Dutch can and do skate on the canals when the ice is thick enough, but the water doesn’t freeze every winter. It’s actually a rarity when they do.

Residents of the Netherlands and the Dutch diaspora humorously responded to Couric’s comment with some additional stereotypes that foreigners might have about the Dutch.

10 Feb

Richard Jackson

@AUMBA10

Replying to @JosDuijvestein

What a bunch of BS

Jos Duijvestein ����

@JosDuijvestein

In summer us Dutch swim to work and grocery store via the canals. You’ll hear that next summer Olympics.

Jos Duijvestein ����

@JosDuijvestein

You just can’t make this up.

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! pic.twitter.com/7YC5deTl2w

Thomas Hogeling

@ThomasHogeling

This is true, this is me skating to work at the cheese factory last friday pic.twitter.com/otHRmDSeys

5:54 AM – Feb 11, 2018

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11 Feb

Thomas Hogeling

@ThomasHogeling

Replying to @JosDuijvestein

This is true, this is me skating to work at the cheese factory last friday pic.twitter.com/otHRmDSeys

Steven Ottens

@stvno

Indeed! This is the typical morning commute for the windmill workers in Amsterdam

Steven Ottens

@stvno

Replying to @ThomasHogeling @JosDuijvestein

Indeed! This is the typical morning commute for the windmill workers in Amsterdam pic.twitter.com/Y15HX3gzGx

Christoph Schmidt

@trouwschmidt

About time government does something about these terrible skating traffic jams each morning…

6:45 AM – Feb 11, 2018 · Brussels, Belgium

Martijn van der Meulen

@yesdogman

Replying to @iamcautionlee @JosDuijvestein

Oh yeah, we do this all the time! First we skate, and then change into our clogs before we start the working day at the local windmill. Didn’t you know?

I.G.

@IlseGuldemond

After we had some tulip bulbs for breakfast of course…

10:42 AM – Feb 11, 2018

Jos Duijvestein ����

@JosDuijvestein

You just can’t make this up.

Miss Little Bean

@EllenBoontje1

This is business class in the Netherlands! pic.twitter.com/GW81YYoAeP

8:12 AM – Feb 11, 2018

Amy

@oldmh

Replying to @MaxSchoo @JosDuijvestein

Yeah, I heard Katie Couric say that and thought, do the canals actually freeze over that often? N then I thought – she must have well paid staff checking these facts so maybe they do. But of course google is free n could have told her she was wrong!

BlankMax

@MaxSchoo

My brother , last week. pic.twitter.com/WdHYen5LFr

Jos Duijvestein ����

@JosDuijvestein

You just can’t make this up.

DirkJanMoedt

@moedtdj

Rush Hour in the Netherlands. pic.twitter.com/RRpDBV9pDX

7:27 AM – Feb 11, 2018

An

@Annemannie

We use tiny windmills to dry our hair. For extra volume we use tulip dust.

In Couric’s defense, the Dutch sure did use a lot of pictures of them skating on canals to claim they never skate on canals, didn’t they ?

As for why speed skating is actually popular in the Netherlands, Business Insider suggests it could be a simple feedback loop. The Netherlands is good at speed skating, which brings it to the attention of the best athletes in the country, leading them to pursue it. That’s a lot less fun than imagining Dutch people in 2018 skating to and from work (at the windmill or wooden shoes factory, naturally), but that’s the price we all pay for truth.

For more on this story go to: https://sports.yahoo.com/dutch-fun-katie-courics-strange-comments-speedskating-005148155.html