Yara van Kerkhof

Name of coach	Niels Kerstholt [national], NED
When and where did you begin this sport?	She began skating at age seven. She took up short track at age 10 in Zoetermeer, Netherlands.

Hobbies	Skiing. (trndz.nl, 28 Jan 2021)
Famous relatives	Her sister Sanne represented the Netherlands in short track at the Olympic Winter Games in 2010 and 2014. (SportsDeskOnline, 23 Dec 2020; schaatsen.nl, 05 Oct 2013)

Reason for choosing this sport

"I learned so I could skate with my sister and my parents on the frozen lakes and canals in the winter. My sister did short track and I loved it so I wanted to do that too."

www.yaravankerkhof.nl/
www.facebook.com/yaravkerkhof
twitter.com/yaravkerkhof

Nicknames	Ukkie, Kleintje, Pitbull [from her coach]. (Athlete, 13 Nov 2018)
Injuries	She broke two ribs in 2021. (warmte365.nl, 28 May 2021) She broke her collarbone after falling off her bicycle in August 2015. She missed two weeks of training because of the injury and it took her two months to fully recover. (Athlete, 13 Nov 2018; schaatsen.nl, 20 Aug 2015) A back injury affected her performances and kept her out of action for three months during the 2014/15 season. (Athlete, 13 Nov 2018; schaatsen.nl, 03 Dec 2014) In 2010 she sustained a compression fracture to her back. She experienced pain for three months but continued to skate. (Athlete, 13 Nov 2018)
Awards and honours	In 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2019 she was named Sportswoman of the Year in Zoetermeer, Netherlands. (ed.nl, 31 May 2020; sportgalazoetermeer.nl, 05 Jul 2019; yvz.nl, 31 Jul 2016)
Most influential person in career	Her sister Sanne, and coach Jeroen Otter. (schaatsen.nl, 08 Feb 2017)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"Enjoy your sport and everything you do. Be persistent and never give up. You can achieve anything in your life if you just believe in it, are willing to work hard for it and never give up." (trndz.nl, 28 Jan 2021)
Other information	HEART CONDITION She was born with a congenital heart condition, which was not discovered until she was age three. "When I was about three years old, my parents noticed that I was tired quickly and had less energy than other children. My mother took me to the doctor, but nothing was found. Yet she felt very strongly that something was wrong, she then insisted on further investigation. I turned out to have a hole in my heart, between the atria, a so-called atrial septal defect [ASD]. Through the hole blood flows from the left to the right atrium, this gives extra burden for the heart and lungs. The right side of the heart in particular has to work harder and therefore becomes larger. This explained why I was tired so quickly and had little energy. However, nothing was done about it in the first few years. The day after my seventh birthday I had an open heart operation." (schaatsen.nl, 28 Jul 2019; hartekind.nl, 25 Apr 2019; hartstichting.nl, 01 Apr 2019) UNEXPECTED MEDAL She was a member of the Dutch women's 3000m relay team that won a bronze medal at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang despite not qualifying for the A final. Two out of four teams in the A final were disqualified, meaning the Dutch team, who won the B final in a world record time, were awarded the bronze medal. (deadspin.com, 21 Feb 2018; bbc.com, 20 Feb 2018) FURTHER EDUCATION She has studied for a master's degree in human movement studies at Vrije University Amsterdam in the Netherlands. (trndz.nl, 28 Jan 2021)

Club / Team

IJsvereniging Zoetermeer [YVZ]: Netherlands

Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs	"I love routines. So I always do the same warm up, go to the same spot in the dressing room and use the same heatbox." (Athlete, 13 Nov 2018)
Milestones	At the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang she became the first female short track skater representing the Netherlands to win an Olympic medal by claiming silver in the 500m. (SportsDeskOnline, 15 Oct 2018; trouw.nl, 13 Feb 2018)