Antoinette de Jong

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Club / Team	Team Jumbo-Visma: Netherlands
Reason for choosing this sport	"When I was little we had natural ice in Friesland [Netherlands] and there was a canal at the back of our house where I used to go skating. When I first got onto the ice, my parents wanted me to skate behind a chair, but I did not want that chair because I knew how to skate instantly. People asked me to join a race at Thialf. That's how I started speed skating.
Name of coach	Jac Orie [club], NED
When and where did you begin this sport?	She began skating at age six.

Other sports	As a child she competed in pony riding competitions, and won two national titles in the sport. (frieschdagblad.nl, 21 Oct 2010)
Memorable sporting achievement	Winning bronze in the 3000m at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (Athlete, 23 Nov 2018)
Most influential person in career	Her parents. (Athlete, 23 Nov 2018)
Hero / Idol	Dutch speed skater and coach Rutger Tijssen. (Athlete, 28 Jan 2017)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"Go hard or go home." (Athlete, 28 Jan 2017)
Other information	DISTANCE FOCUS After winning the women's 1500m title at the Dutch national single distances championships for the first time in October 2021, she said she was focusing on improving in longer distances. She finished second in the women's 3000m at the same event. "I have to hold back a bit too much [in the 3000m], because I have become a bit faster over the last couple of years. In the 1500m, I can completely use my strength, but that doesn't work in the 3000m and 5000m. That's something I need to improve." (teamjumbovisma.com, 31 Oct 2021; nieuws.nl, 29 Oct 2021; SportsDeskOnline, 09 Nov 2021) EQUESTRIAN SPORT She was a talented horse rider in her youth, and considered pursuing a career in equestrian sport before she started focusing on speed skating. "I got my first pony when I was four. I loved speed skating, but I used to consider equestrian my number one sport. When I was young I was able to do both sports, but at age 15 I had to make a choice. It was just too much of a good thing. Sometimes I had two competitions in one day and I almost fainted on the ice with fatigue because I had to get up so early. I chose speed skating at the time, because I couldn't delay a speed skating career. If I wanted it, I had to do it straight away. But in the back of my mind I always kept the option open to return to equestrian, which I will definitely do after my speed skating career is over." (isu.org, 17 Jan 2018) FAMILY SPORT Her younger sister Michelle has also represented the Netherlands in speed skating. "We got such competitiveness from our parents. My parents were pretty high in equestrian sport. They were very passionate about it. We couldn't stand our losses, that's why we didn't play games anymore. I didn't like it [when she or her sister was identified as 'the sister of' by commentators]. It is not necessary to say that every time. Everyone is different, everyone is special. Maybe we will be competing together at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, or perhaps at the 2026 edition. That would be very special." (schaatsen.nl, 11 Oct 2019)
Famous relatives	Her younger sister Michelle has represented the Netherlands in speed skating, making her World Cup debut in 2019 in Minsk, Belarus. Her partner Coen Rijpma has competed in road cycling at elite level. (SportsDeskOnline, 12 Dec 2019; tellerreport.com, 22 Nov 2019; Coen Rijpma Instagram profile, 07 Nov 2021; procyclingstats.com, 04 May 2019)
Ambitions	To win a gold medal at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. (schaatsen.nl, 11 Oct 2019)