Kai Verbij

www.facebook.com/kai.verbij
twitter.com/kaiverbij

Club / Team	Team Jumbo-Visma: Netherlands
Name of coach	Jac Orie [club], NED
Reason for choosing this sport	His parents introduced him to the sport.
When and where did you begin this sport?	He began skating at age six in Leiden, Netherlands.

Sporting philosophy / motto	"Little work, big achievements." (Athlete, 13 Nov 2017)
Injuries	In May 2020 he required surgery after breaking his left collarbone while cycling in Friesland, Netherlands. (teamjumbovisma.com, 29 May 2020) He sustained a muscle injury on his way to finishing second in the 500m at the Dutch Olympic trials in December 2017. The injury forced him out of the 1000m at the trials, and put his Olympic participation in doubt. He was still able to compete at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (nporadio1.nl, 13 Sep 2018; omroepwest.nl, 28 Dec 2017)
Awards and honours	In March 2019 he was named Skater of the Year at the Ard Schenk Awards Gala in the Netherlands. (schaatsen.nl, 23 May 2019)
Most influential person in career	His mother, and US speed skater Shani Davis. (Athlete, 13 Nov 2017, 02 Dec 2015)
Hero / Idol	Japanese footballer Keisuke Honda, Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi. (Athlete, 24 Feb 2016, 02 Dec 2015)
Memorable sporting achievement	Winning gold in the sprint combination at the 2017 World Sprint Championships in Calgary, AB, Canada. (Athlete, 13 Nov 2017)
Other information	JUMBO MOVE In 2020 he switched from Team Reggeborgh to Team Jumbo-Visma. As space opened up in his new team when Dutch teammate Kjeld Nuis moved in the opposite direction. "I knew if I didn't do it now, I would regret it. There was never a place at Jumbo-Visma. Now Kjeld's unexpected switch to Reggeborgh suddenly opened a door. I wanted to throw myself to the lions, instead of staying in the same environment any longer." (parool.nl, 28 May 2020) HERITAGE He has a Dutch father and a Japanese mother. He decided to compete for the Netherlands due to the country's history in speed skating and the fact that his ability to speak Japanese was limited. "The teams and the people I train with in the Netherlands are better. Things are going very well with Japanese skating and there is a lot of money there, but the best skaters for me are in the Netherlands. It is much nicer if you can compete with them. My teammates are strong and I have a good rapport with them. I do speak some Japanese but I cannot have in-depth conversations and I do not know if I would be very happy if I could not say what I want.'' (nporadio1.nl, 13 Sep 2018; Facebook profile, 30 Aug 2014) MUSIC CAREER In 2019 he signed a contract with a record label in the Netherlands. He has been producing songs with one of his childhood friends since 2016. "He is one of the greatest men in the world, but I don't know if he wants to be named in this [project], and if something comes out we don't want people to think we are piggybacking each other [due to Verbij's popularity]. We want to be judged by our music. I have a deal with a label. There is some delay because I cannot be full-time in music. The deal is still running and I hope to be able to release some music soon." (sportnieuws.nl, 14 Nov 2019; ad.nl, 17 Aug 2019; sportnieuws.nl, 17 Aug 2019; pzc.nl, 17 Aug 2019)
Hobbies	Making music, playing the piano, films, computers. (Instagram profile, 30 Nov 2020; schaatsen.nl, 09 Feb 2020)
Other sports	He has competed in short track at national level in the Netherlands. (shorttrackonline.info, 2011)