Cornelius Kersten

corneliuskersten.nl
www.facebook.com/corneliuskersten1
twitter.com/kerstncornelius

Club / Team	Team Worldstream: Netherlands
Name of coach	Kosta Poltavets [club], RUS
When and where did you begin this sport?	He began speed skating at a young age in Haarlem, Netherlands.
Reason for choosing this sport	"My father took me to the rink and I liked doing it, so it stuck."

Most influential person in career	His parents. (Athlete, 16 Nov 2018)
Injuries	In 2015 he damaged his front tooth, broke his collarbone, and sustained a concussion. He was out of action for five months as a result of his injuries. (Athlete, 16 Nov 2018) He has battled regular groin injuries during his career. (Athlete, 16 Nov 2018)
Memorable sporting achievement	Competing at the 2017 Winter World University Games in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and the 2018 World Sprint Championships in Changchun, People's Republic of China. (Athlete, 16 Nov 2018)
Nicknames	Corno (corneliuskersten.nl, 04 Feb 2018)
Other sports	He has competed in road cycling as part of the Botje Racing fixed gear team in the Netherlands. (maap.cc, 08 Sep 2020; Instagram profile, 08 Dec 2020)
Famous relatives	His partner Ellia Smeding has represented Great Britain in speed skating and competed at the 2020 European Single Distances Championships in Heerenveen, Netherlands. (SportsDeskOnline, 19 Jan 2021; switchtheplay.com, 13 Jun 2020)
Ambitions	To compete at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. (bbc.co.uk, 17 Dec 2020)
Other information	BUSINESS VENTURE In 2020 he and his partner Ellia Smeding started their own coffee business called Brew '22. The venture was intended as a way to help fund his and Smeding's bid to compete at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, and they also hoped to fund other speed skaters with the profits. "Long track speed skating is a beautiful but quite an unknown sport, particularly in the United Kingdom, without a single 400 metre rink in the country. Since speed skating is so obscure, it is very hard to find funding through sponsorship. So we decided to try and fund our campaign ourselves. My partner Ellia and I have been passionate about coffee for a long time now. Whenever we travelled around for World Cups, training camps or other competitions it would always be hard to find good coffee. We put our favourite beans together and came up with three blends and two single origins, all named after specific athletes' characteristics with colourways inspired by the Olympic rings. This is also where the name Brew '22 came from, we want to use our company to 'brew' ourselves to the 2022 Games." (bbc.co.uk, 17 Dec 2020; maap.cc, 08 Sep 2020; switchtheplay.com, 13 Jun 2020) NETHERLANDS TO GREAT BRITAIN Born in Haarlem, Netherlands, he is eligible to compete for Great Britain through his mother. "The idea has always been there to represent Great Britain. I have always loved watching Team GB perform and seeing them on TV. They always seemed like the best, the most beautiful and the strongest team and the connection was always there." (eurosport.co.uk, 21 Oct 2021) FURTHER EDUCATION He has also studied at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. (Facebook profile, 30 Aug 2021)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"It's an everlasting quest, and a very unnatural sport. Humans have evolved to stand up straight and walk forward, and in speed skating you're springing down and pushing to the side. When you hit it, it's a beautiful feeling." (eurosport.co.uk, 21 Oct 2021)
Hero / Idol	British short track skater Elise Christie. (eurosport.co.uk, 21 Oct 2021)