Kjeld Nuis

Club / Team	Team Reggeborgh: Netherlands
Reason for choosing this sport	His first recollection of skating is of watching Dutch speed skater Rintje Ritsma compete in a World Cup race on television. He took up the sport because he enjoyed the movement and the feeling of it.
Name of coach	Gerard van Velde [club], NED; Rintje Ritsma [national], NED
When and where did you begin this sport?	He began skating at age seven on a course in Leiden, Netherlands.

Other information	SPEED RECORD In March 2022 he set a world record for the fastest speed achieved on ice skates, reaching a top speed of 103kph on the Savalen lake in Norway. He was protected from winds by an air shield pulled by a car. The record surpassed his own previous world record of 93kph, set in 2018 in Sweden. "I was literally flying over the ice. Skating that fast is technically challenging and requires precision. I skated more than two kilometres on each attempt, which I never do in competition. It was very hard on my body. This is really the maximum that is possible on skates." (insidethegames.biz, 21 Mar 2022; redbull.com, 17 Mar 2022; lequipe.fr, 29 Mar 2018) HEART TROUBLE In 2021 he was diagnosed with pericarditis [inflammation of the sac that surrounds the heart] after being vaccinated against COVID-19. The condition can be a rare side-effect of the vaccine. "If there's something wrong with your heart, it's scary. An ankle injury is annoying, but I still have to go through my whole life with my heart. All sorts of things were going through my head. Fortunately I have fully recovered from it and I try not to think about it any more. I accepted that I couldn't do anything about it, and then thought, 'What can I do to get fit again as soon as possible?' It wasn't until a month and a half before the [2022] Olympic Winter Games that I was back in the right flow and my self-confidence came back." (vriendin.nl, 13 Jul 2022; nu.nl, 29 Oct 2021)
Most influential person in career	His father. (Athlete, 27 Jan 2017)

www.facebook.com/kjeld.nuis
twitter.com/KjeldNuis

Injuries	A groin injury meant he missed the 2022 World Cup event in Stavanger, Norway. (telegraaf.nl, 03 Nov 2022; ad.nl, 02 Nov 2022) In July 2021 he was hospitalised with pericarditis [inflammation of the sac that surrounds the heart]. (rtlboulevard.nl, 22 Jul 2021) He could not compete at the 2019 Dutch National Championships due to influenza. (rtlboulevard.nl, 26 Dec 2019) He suffered a minor shoulder injury after he crashed while mountain biking in December 2016. He recovered in time to compete at the 2016 World Cup event in Heerenveen, Netherlands. (isu.org, 10 Dec 2016) He was involved in a car accident when he was age 14 and sustained a severe concussion and broken eye sockets. (toyota.nl, 11 Sep 2023)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"Carpe diem." (Athlete, 27 Jan 2017)
Awards and honours	In December 2018 he received the Jaap Eden Trophy for being named Athlete of the Year by the Dutch Olympic Committee and Dutch Sports Federation [NOC*NSF]. (telegraaf.nl, 19 Dec 2018; nos.nl, 19 Dec 2018) In April 2018 he was named an honorary citizen of Emmen in the Netherlands. (ad.nl, 08 Apr 2018) In March 2018 he was made Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau in recognition of the two gold medals he won at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (shaatsen.nl, 26 Mar 2018; lintjes.nl, 2018) In March 2018 he was the male recipient of the Ard Schenk Award, which is presented to the speed skater of the year in the Netherlands. (schaatsen.nl, 28 Mar 2018)
Ambitions	To compete at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina. (rtlnieuws.nl, 25 Oct 2022)
Famous relatives	His partner Joy Beune has represented the Netherlands in speed skating. She won a silver medal in team pursuit at the 2019 World Single Distances Championships in Inzell, Germany. (ad.nl, 06 Apr 2022; SportsDeskOnline, 14 Dec 2020; flaironline.nl, 22 Jun 2020)
Memorable sporting achievement	Winning gold in the men's 1000m at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (toyota.nl, 11 Sep 2023)