Kai Verbij

Club / Team

Team Jumbo-Visma: Netherlands

Hobbies	Making music, playing the piano, films, computers. (Instagram profile, 01 Nov 2021; schaatsen.nl, 09 Feb 2020)
Other sports	He has competed in short track at national level in the Netherlands. (shorttrackonline.info, 2011)

Name of coach

Jac Orie [club], NED; Rintje Ritsma [national], NED

Other information

SPORTSMANSHIP During the 1000m final at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, he gave way to Canadian skater Laurent Dubreuil on the final crossover straight to avoid the risk of a collision. As a result, Verbij finished last in the race while Dubreuil won silver. In recognition of his sportsmanship, Verbij won the Visa Award for the most inspiring moment of the Games. The award allowed him to select a charity to receive 50,000 USD, and he chose UNICEF Netherlands. "After the second inner, I didn't feel I had enough speed to go before him in the lane change. So I had to quit. Otherwise, I would've been disqualified and probably messed up his race. You always question if you made the right decision in that split second, but at the same time, I'm really proud that people from around the world voted for this award, acknowledging my decision. It has made me feel like I made the right choice." (olympics.com, 21 Jun 2022; schaatsen.nl, 21 Jun 2022; rtlnieuws.nl, 18 Feb 2022; cbc.ca, 18 Feb 2022) JUMBO MOVE In 2020 he switched from Team Reggeborgh to Team Jumbo-Visma. A space opened up at Jumbo-Visma when his Dutch national 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. 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." In January 2022 he signed a new two-year contract with Team Jumbo-Visma to run until 2024. (teamjumbovisma.com, 28 Jan 2022; 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.'' (destentor.nl, 22 May 2021; 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 had begun producing songs with one of his childhood friends in 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 prominence]. We want to be judged by our music." (sportnieuws.nl, 14 Nov 2019, 17 Aug 2019; ad.nl, 17 Aug 2019; pzc.nl, 17 Aug 2019)

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

Reason for choosing this sport

His parents introduced him to the sport.

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)

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 early 2023 he suffered a groin injury, which kept him out for the remainder of the 2022/23 season. He also sustained a groin injury in October 2022. (teamjumbovisma.com, 02 Feb 2023; nu.nl, 28 Oct 2022) In 2022 he was affected by appendicitis. (schaatsen.nl, 16 Sep 2023) 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	He won the Visa Award for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. The award was voted on by members of the public, who selected his sportsmanship during the men's 1000m final as the most inspiring moment of the Games. (olympics.com, 21 Jun 2022) In March 2019 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, 23 May 2019)
Ambitions	To win a medal at the Olympic Winter Games. (schaatsen.nl, 01 Oct 2021)