Merel Conijn
Netherlands
| Sport | Speed Skating | |
| FederationID | SSNED21910200101 | |
| NOC | Netherlands | |
| Born | 19 Oct 2001
in  Amsterdam | |
| Gender | Women |
| Residence | Heerenveen, NED | |
| Higher education | Communications, Science - University of Amsterdam: Netherlands | |
| Occupation | Athlete | |
| Languages | Dutch, English |
| Main Achievements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Main Achievements |
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| World Junior Championships | Event | |||||
|
World Junior Championships
|
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| 1500m | 1 | |||||
| 3000m | 1 | |||||
| Mass Start 10 Laps | 1 | |||||
| Team Pursuit | 1 | |||||
Sport Specific Information
Sport Specific Information
| Club / Team | Team Jumbo-Visma: Netherlands |
General Interest
General Interest
| Injuries | Her training was disrupted at the start of the 2022/23 season after she contracted COVID-19. (nhnieuws.nl, 22 Oct 2022) | |
| Ambitions | To compete at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina. (schaatsen.nl, 30 Mar 2022) |
Sport Specific Information
Sport Specific Information
| Name of coach | Jac Orie [club], NED |
General Interest
General Interest
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "I like challenges and skating is really my passion and my life for me. It's what I do with incredible pleasure and I think that's the basis for success. You have to do something where your heart is, because otherwise it won't work." (sportnieuws.nl, 01 Jan 2022) | |
| Other information | STUDY PLANS She studied for a degree in communications at the University of Amsterdam but decided to quit in 2021 to focus on her athletic career. She plans to go back to studying because she says she needs stimulus outside of skating. "I am quite a thinker by nature, so my brain needs that stimulation outside of sports. I'm leaning towards biology or psychology now. It may not be completely in line with my previous study, but I think that stimulation will help me a lot as an athlete in the short term. If I think a lot, I prefer to think about something that really benefits me.” (parool.nl, 28 Oct 2023) |
Social Media
Social Media
| instagram.com/merelconijn | twitter.com/merelconijn |