Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong

Club / Team

Team Jumbo-Visma: Netherlands

Other sports

As a child she took part in pony riding competitions, and won two national titles in the sport. She has also competed in road cycling. (teamjumbovisma.nl, 01 Oct 2022; Instagram profile, 07 Sep 2022; frieschdagblad.nl, 21 Oct 2010)

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.

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)

twitter.com/antoinette0604
www.facebook.com/Antoinette-de-Jong-357360694367203

Other information	EQUESTRIAN 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." (schaatsen.nl, 11 Oct 2019)
Famous relatives	Her younger sister Michelle has represented the Netherlands in speed skating, including at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. Her husband Coen Rijpma has competed in road cycling at elite level. (SportsDeskOnline, 15 Nov 2022; Instagram profile, 06 Nov 2022; tellerreport.com, 22 Nov 2019; procyclingstats.com, 04 May 2019)

antoinettedejong.nl

Injuries

She was dealing with back pain at the 2023 World Cup event in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland. (schaatsen.nl, 05 Mar 2023)