Gijs Esders
Netherlands
| Sport | Speed Skating | |
| NOC | Netherlands | |
| Born | 09 Jun 1992
in  Deventer | |
| Gender | Men |
| Residence | Deventer, NED | |
| Higher education | Business, Economics - Saxion University of Applied Sciences: Enschede, NED | |
| Languages | Dutch, English |
| Personal Bests | Event | Record | Date | Location | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Personal Bests | ||||||
| Event | Record | Date | Location | |||
| 500m | 34.99 | 26 Jan 2019 | Heerenveen |
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| 1000m | 1:08.67 | 23 Nov 2019 | Heerenveen |
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| 1500m | 1:47.48 | 29 Dec 2018 | Heerenveen |
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Sport Specific Information
Sport Specific Information
| Club / Team | Gewest Fryslan: Netherlands |
General Interest
General Interest
| Memorable sporting achievement | Being selected to compete at the 2018 World Cup event in Obihiro, Japan. (Athlete, 21 Nov 2018) |
Sport Specific Information
Sport Specific Information
| Reason for choosing this sport | "I like the speed, the technical element and the variation in training over the summer and winter months." |
General Interest
General Interest
| Most influential person in career | Dutch speed skater Ruben Broekhuizen. (Athlete, 21 Nov 2018) | |
| Hero / Idol | Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal. (Athlete, 21 Nov 2018) |
Sport Specific Information
Sport Specific Information
| Name of coach | Henk Hospes [club], NED | |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He began speed skating in 2000 at Sport Centre De Scheg in Deventer, Netherlands. |
General Interest
General Interest
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "Dream, but don't neglect execution." (Athlete, 21 Nov 2018) | |
| Other information | CLUB SWITCH In October 2021 he terminated his contract with Team Reggeborgh after one year and returned to Gewest Fryslan. He had previously been with Gewest Fryslan for five seasons. "My first season at Reggeborgh didn't go great, but it wasn't bad either. After last season [2020/21], we made a nice plan and it went really well, until we ended up on the summer ice in June. I noticed that the plan fluctuated a bit on the ice and that suddenly got me thinking. After our training camp in Mallorca [Spain] we went out on the ice again and I still wasn't skating well. At one point I started to give in to those doubts and said to myself, 'Gijs, your gut tells you not to skate here'. I looked in the mirror and asked the question, 'Am I becoming a better athlete here?' No, was my answer. And after that it went pretty quickly. I would rather be happy and uncertain in terms of income than financially secure and unhappy." (schaatsen.nl, 17 Oct 2021, 12 Oct 2021) OCCUPATION He has been employed as a trainee at a car leasing company in Drachten, Netherlands, and as a content marketer for a digital health company in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. (Athlete, 21 Nov 2018; LinkedIn profile, 01 Sep 2020) |
Social Media
Social Media
| www.facebook.com/gijs.esders | twitter.com/GijsEsders |
General Interest
General Interest
| Ambitions | To win a medal at the Olympic Winter Games. (schaatsen.nl, 17 Oct 2021) |
Social Media
Social Media
| gijsesders.nl |