Carlijn Achtereekte

Memorable sporting achievement

Winning a gold medal in the 3000m at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (teamjumbovisma.nl, 20 May 2020)

Reason for choosing this sport

Her father encouraged her to try the sport and she started enjoying it more and more.

Most influential person in career	Coach Johan Frederiksen, her father and her brother. (Athlete, 02 Dec 2011)
Hero / Idol	Dutch speed skater Erben Wennemars. (Athlete, 02 Dec 2011)

When and where did you begin this sport?

She began skating at about age nine or 10 at the Deventer IJsclub in the Netherlands.

Other information

OLYMPIC GOLD LESSONS She says that winning gold in the 3000m at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang resulted in her feeling more pressure, but also boosted her confidence in her abilities. "I learned a lot. Good and not so good lessons. If things don't go well, that title brings a lot of extra pressure, you have to learn to deal with that. That hasn't always worked out well. I think I'm still the same Carlijn. At least that's what my friends say. I do notice that I am more independent, but that could also be due to my age. The Olympic title showed me that I can skate, but I'm still not someone who seeks out attention. You don't often see me in the tabloids." (destentor.nl, 16 Sep 2021) EDUCATION She studied psychomotor therapy at the School of Human Movements and Sports [CALO] in the Netherlands, which incorporates medical, psychological, kinesiological, and rehabilitative components. She also has a teaching degree in physical education from Windesheim University of Applied Sciences. (schaatsen.nl, 01 Aug 2018; Athlete, 04 Dec 2011; benthamscience.com, 2010)

www.carlijnachtereekte.nl/
www.facebook.com/carlijnachtereektesschaatster
twitter.com/Carlijn_A

Awards and honours	In March 2018 she was made a Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau in recognition of the gold medal she won at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (schaatsen.nl, 26 Mar 2018; lintjes.nl, 2018)
Injuries	She sustained a back injury in November 2020 that forced her to miss the 2020 Dutch National Allround Championships in Heerenveen. (sallandcentraal.nl, 21 Nov 2020) In June 2020 she dislocated and fractured her left shoulder during training in Heerenveen, Netherlands. The injury required surgery. (destentor.nl, 19 Nov 2020, 24 Jul 2020; pzc.nl, 09 Jul 2020) She dislocated her left shoulder shortly after the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. (destentor.nl, 24 Jul 2020) A stomach complaint forced her to miss the 2018 Dutch World Cup trials in Heerenveen. She also did not compete at the 2018 World Cup event in Obihiro, Japan. (isu.org, 15 Nov 2018) She suffered from a throat infection ahead of the 2015/16 season, which eventually required surgery. (schaatsen.nl, 01 Aug 2018) In April 2014 she underwent shoulder surgery. (schaatsen.nl, 01 Aug 2018)
Hobbies	Shopping, cycling, spending time with friends, watching television. (schaatsen.nl, 26 Dec 2019, 01 Aug 2018)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"As a professional athlete you have to be selfish at times. I really had to learn that, because in the past I wasn't like that. I was often accused of being too soft. Being hard is a characteristic that belongs to the top sport life, but I am not always proud of it. At training camp I am not bothered by it because all my teammates live like that, but at home with family and friends it is different. That value disappears quickly when I'm off the skates." (teamjumbovisma.nl, 11 Sep 2019)