Katja Franzen

Germany

Residence	Eindhoven, NED
Higher education	Physiotherapy - HAN University of Applied Sciences: Nijmegen, NED
Occupation	Athlete, Translator
Languages	Dutch, English, French, German, Spanish
Family	Partner Herjan van den Heuvel

Personal Bests	Event	Record	Date	Location
Personal Bests
	Event	Record	Date	Location
	500m	38.76	30 Jan 2021	Heerenveen
	1000m	1:17.30	16 Jan 2021	Heerenveen
	1500m	2:06.95	16 Mar 2008	Calgary
	3000m	4:12.83	02 Nov 2019	Inzell

Sport Specific Information

Club / Team

DEC Inzell: Germany

General Interest

Hero / Idol

Canadian speed skater Jeremy Wotherspoon. (Athlete, 18 Jan 2021)

Sport Specific Information

Name of coach	Andreas Kraus [club], GER
Coach from which country?	Netherlands

Social Media

General Interest

Hobbies	Coffee, cooking, baking, spending time outdoors, hiking. (Instagram profile, 15 Nov 2022; Athlete, 18 Jan 2021)
Injuries	An illness prevented her from qualifying for any World Cup events in 2021/22. As a result, she did not have the chance to qualify for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. (Instagram profile, 21 Jan 2022) In 2014 she sustained a costovertebral joint injury [where the ribs join to the vertebral column]. It took one year for the injury to be diagnosed, and she did not return to training until 2018. (Athlete, 14 Nov 2019) She suffered a knee injury in 2012. (katjafranzen.de, 17 Jan 2021)
Memorable sporting achievement	Winning a gold medal in the 500m at the 2008 Junior World Cup event in Inzell, Germany. (Athlete, 14 Nov 2019)
Famous relatives	Her partner Herjan van den Heuvel has competed in speed skating at international level. (Athlete, 18 Jan 2021; speedskatingnews.info, 23 Feb 2019)

Sport Specific Information

Reason for choosing this sport

"I had to choose between all the sports I did at the time and speed skating was the most fascinating one."

General Interest

Most influential person in career

Coach Marc Otter, physio Peter Eemers. (Athlete, 18 Jan 2021)

Sport Specific Information

Training Regime	She trains twice a day for a total of 20 hours per week.
When and where did you begin this sport?	She began speed skating in 1998 in Grefrath, Germany.

General Interest

Sporting philosophy / motto	"I am not into motivational quotes, but 'hard work will pay off' might be a good way to put it. It's important to know what you love to do and then put everything you have into it. You won't regret it. Work hard and make it happen." (Athlete, 18 Jan 2021)
Other information	OCCUPATION She owns a translation company called Taalspiel, through which she translates texts from Dutch to German. (Facebook profile, 15 Nov 2022; LinkedIn profile, 16 Dec 2021; katjafranzen.de, 17 Jan 2021) FURTHER EDUCATION She has also studied philosophy and theatre at the University of Hildesheim in Germany, and philosophy at Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands. (LinkedIn profile, 16 Dec 2021; Athlete, 14 Nov 2019)

Social Media

www.katjafranzen.de
twitter.com/KatjaFranzen

Championships results	Year	Competition	Event	Rank
Championships results
	2021/2022	European Single Distances Championships	Team Sprint	4
	2022/2023	World Single Distances Championships	Team Sprint	7
	2020/2021	European Sprint Championships	Overall	10
	2021/2022	European Single Distances Championships	500m	12
	2021/2022	European Single Distances Championships	1000m	12
	2019/2020	European Single Distances Championships	500m	15
	2020/2021	World Single Distances Championships	500m	16
	2020/2021	World Single Distances Championships	1000m	19
	2019/2020	World Sprint Championships	Overall	23

World Cups	Year	Competition	Event	Rank
World Cups
	2020/2021	World Cup Classification	500m	19
	2020/2021	World Cup Classification	1000m	21
	2022/2023	World Cup Classification	500m	35
	2019/2020	World Cup Classification	500m	38
	2019/2020	World Cup Classification	1000m	38
	2013/2014	World Cup Classification	1000m	48