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Cornelius Kersten

Great Britain

SportSpeed Skating
FederationIDSSGBR11907199401
NOCGreat Britain
Born19 Jul 1994 in  Haarlem
GenderMen
ResidenceHeerenveen, NED
OccupationAthlete, Business Owner
LanguagesDutch, English
Higher educationEngineering, Industrial Management - NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences: Netherlands
FamilyPartner Ellia Smeding
Personal Bests
EventRecordDateLocation 
Personal Bests
  Event RecordDateLocation 
    500m 34.82 03 Dec 2021 Salt Lake City, UT  
    1000m 1:07.33 12 Dec 2021 Calgary  
    1500m 1:44.29 11 Dec 2021 Calgary  
    5000m 7:14.86 11 Mar 2014 Heerenveen  
Main Achievements
 
Main Achievements
World Single Distances Championships
Event  
World Single Distances Championships
    1000m     1  
General Interest
General Interest
Other informationBUSINESS VENTURE
In 2020 he and his partner Ellia Smeding started their own coffee business called Brew '22, which is based in Heerenveen, Netherlands. The venture was intended as a way to help fund his and Smeding's bid to compete at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, and they also hoped to support other speed skaters with the profits. "Long track speed skating is a beautiful but quite an unknown sport, particularly in the United Kingdom, without a single 400 metre rink in the country. Since speed skating is so obscure, it is very hard to find funding through sponsorship. So we decided to try and fund our campaign ourselves. My partner Ellia and I have been passionate about coffee for a long time now. Whenever we travelled around for World Cups, training camps or other competitions it would always be hard to find good coffee. We put our favourite beans together and came up with three blends and two single origins, all named after specific athletes' characteristics with colourways inspired by the Olympic rings. This is also where the name Brew '22 came from, we want to use our company to 'brew' ourselves to the 2022 Games." (LinkedIn profile, 04 Oct 2023; olympics.com, 07 Feb 2022; brew22.com, 10 Jan 2022; bbc.co.uk, 17 Dec 2020; maap.cc, 08 Sep 2020; switchtheplay.com, 13 Jun 2020)

NETHERLANDS TO GREAT BRITAIN
Born in Haarlem, Netherlands, he is eligible to compete for Great Britain through his mother. "The idea has always been there to represent Great Britain. I have always loved watching Team GB perform and seeing them on TV. They always seemed like the best, the most beautiful and the strongest team and the connection was always there. Skating is a bit of a game for me. And I really want to play it out, reach my maximum potential. You're done in the Netherlands if you can't scale up to a bigger team and at that time I couldn't do that. Through England [Team GB] I was able to develop further and progress step by step." (volkskrant.nl, 10 Jan 2022; eurosport.co.uk, 21 Oct 2021)

FURTHER EDUCATION
He has also studied at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. (Facebook profile, 30 Aug 2021)
 
Hero / IdolBritish short track skater Elise Christie. (eurosport.co.uk, 21 Oct 2021)  
Sporting philosophy / motto"It's an everlasting quest, and a very unnatural sport. Humans have evolved to stand up straight and walk forward, and in speed skating you're springing down and pushing to the side. When you hit it, it's a beautiful feeling." (eurosport.co.uk, 21 Oct 2021)  
Sport Specific Information
Sport Specific Information
Club / TeamTeam Novus: Netherlands  
General Interest
General Interest
HobbiesCooking, listening to music. (team-novus-skating.com, 20 Feb 2022)  
AmbitionsTo compete at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina. (iceskating.org.uk, 07 Jan 2023)  
MilestonesIn 2023 he became the first speed skater representing Great Britain to win a medal at the world championships in 72 years. He claimed bronze in the 1000m at the 2023 World Single Distances Championships in Heerenveen, Netherlands. Great Britain's previous world championship medallist in the sport was Johnny Cronshey in 1949. (SportsDeskOnline, 11 Oct 2023; iceskating.org.uk, 05 Mar 2023)  
Sport Specific Information
Sport Specific Information
Name of coachDaniel Greig [club], AUS  
General Interest
General Interest
InjuriesAn ankle injury affected him during the 2022/23 season. (iceskating.org.uk, 05 Mar 2023; Instagram profile, 04 Mar 2023)

In 2015 he damaged his front tooth, broke his collarbone, and sustained a concussion. He was out of action for five months as a result of his injuries. (Athlete, 16 Nov 2018)

He has battled regular groin injuries during his career. (Athlete, 16 Nov 2018)
 
Memorable sporting achievementWinning bronze in the 1000m at the 2023 World Single Distances Championships in Heerenveen, Netherlands. (iceskating.org.uk, 05 Mar 2023)  
Sport Specific Information
Sport Specific Information
Reason for choosing this sportHe became interested in skating at age five after he joined his father and two brothers at a local ice rink. "My father took me to the rink and I liked doing it, so it stuck."  
General Interest
General Interest
Most influential person in careerHis parents. (Athlete, 16 Nov 2018)  
Sport Specific Information
Sport Specific Information
When and where did you begin this sport?He began speed skating at a young age in Haarlem, Netherlands.  
General Interest
General Interest
NicknamesCorno, Corn (Instagram profile, 04 Mar 2023; corneliuskersten.nl, 04 Feb 2018)  
Social Media
Social Media
corneliuskersten.nl  
www.facebook.com/corneliuskersten1  
twitter.com/kerstncornelius  
General Interest
General Interest
Other sportsHe has competed in road cycling as part of the Botje Racing fixed gear team in the Netherlands. (Instagram profile, 30 Sep 2022; maap.cc, 08 Sep 2020)  
Famous relativesHis partner Ellia Smeding represented Great Britain in speed skating at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. (Instagram profile, 11 Aug 2023; SportsDeskOnline, 26 Oct 2022)  
Championships results
Year Competition Event Rank  
Championships results
    2022/2023 World Single Distances Championships 1000m3  
    2021/2022 European Single Distances Championships 1000m4  
    2022 Olympic Games 1000m9  
    2020/2021 World Single Distances Championships 1000m11  
    2023/2024 European Single Distances Championships 1000m12  
    2022/2023 European Sprint Championships Overall14  
    2023/2024 European Single Distances Championships 500m17  
    2018/2019 European Sprint Championships Overall18  
    2020/2021 World Single Distances Championships 1500m18  
    2022 Olympic Games 1500m19  
    2017/2018 World Sprint Championships Overall20  
    2019/2020 European Single Distances Championships Mass Start 16 Laps23  
    2022 Olympic Games 500m25  
World Cups
Year Competition Event Rank  
World Cups
    2021/2022 World Cup Classification 1000m8  
    2020/2021 World Cup Classification 1000m21  
    2022/2023 World Cup Classification 1000m22  
    2021/2022 World Cup Classification 1500m26  
    2020/2021 World Cup Classification 1500m34  
    2022/2023 World Cup Classification 500m44  
    2019/2020 World Cup Classification Mass Start 16 Laps46  
    2021/2022 World Cup Classification 500m51  
    2017/2018 World Cup Classification 1000m54  
    2022/2023 World Cup Classification 1500m56  
    2019/2020 World Cup Classification 1000m56  
    2018/2019 World Cup Classification 1000m59  
    2018/2019 World Cup Classification 1500m67