Arianna Pruisscher

Club / Team

Albert Heijn Zaanlander: Netherlands

Injuries	She sustained an ankle tendon injury while competing at the 2023 Alternative Elfstedentocht race on the Weissensee lake in Austria. The injury kept her off of the ice for six months. (Instagram profile, 16 Aug 2023; rtvdrenthe.nl, 20 Feb 2023)
Other sports	She has competed in road cycling and took part in the 2021 Paris-Roubaix Femmes race in France. (SportsDeskOnline, 02 Nov 2023)

Name of coach	Jillert Anema [club], NED; Arjan Samplonius [club], NED
When and where did you begin this sport?	She began cycling at age nine and took up skating as a complementary activity during the northern hemisphere winters.

Other information

ROAD CYCLING TO SPEED SKATING She competed as a professional road cyclist earlier in her career. Having started skating as away of staying fit over the northern hemisphere winters, she then began competing in marathon events. In 2022 she finished second in the women's marathon at the Dutch championships and decided to approach speed skating coach Jillert Anema, who works with the Albert Heijn Zaanlander team, about pursuing a career in the sport. "We then started talking and Jillert gave me the opportunity. Given the unique opportunity that was presented to me, I stopped cycling. If Anema wants you, you shouldn't say no, and you'll get the most out of it, I think. I haven't regretted it for a single day. I wanted this, a step higher, and then this team is the only one in which you can develop in such a way that you can continue. As a marathon skater, but I also hope for the long track." (Schaatsen.nl YouTube channel, 15 Dec 2022; schaatsen.nl, 22 Oct 2022; ariannapruisscher.jouwweb.nl, 01 Jan 2016)

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