Melle van 't Wout

Club / Team

Trias Shorttrack: Leeuwarden, NED

Famous relatives

His younger brother Jens has represented the Netherlands in short track, including at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. (SportsDeskOnline, 31 Oct 2022; nos.nl, 11 Feb 2022; teamnl.org, 23 Nov 2021)

Reason for choosing this sport	His parents did not want him to go further with ice hockey because he had sustained too many injuries. Coach Wilma Boomstra from Sint Jacobiparochie, Netherlands, then invited him and his younger brother Jens to compete in short track. "It didn't go so well. We applied ice hockey techniques to short track skating and had to get used to it. I don't know how, but she saw talent in us."
Name of coach	Niels Kerstholt [national], NED
When and where did you begin this sport?	He began playing ice hockey in 2005 with the Bracebridge Bears club in Ontario, Canada, and got involved in short track at Barrie Speed Skating Club eight years later. He decided to pursue the sport at age 14 after moving back to the Netherlands.

Other information

EARLY DAYS He moved to Canada at a young age and played ice hockey for eight years while he was at school there. However, his parents insisted he quit the sport after he sustained a number of injuries. "I thought ice hockey was a great sport with lots of action and you have to think carefully. It was also a fierce sport with many risks. When I was age 14, for example, I suffered a concussion during a competition. At first I thought that [being told to give up ice hockey] was a shame. I was disappointed and I missed my teammates. Ice hockey is a team sport and within such a team you do everything for each other. We really stood up for each other." (helden.media, 28 Jul 2022; volkskrant.nl, 03 Jan 2021; vantwoutjes.nl, 01 Dec 2019; schaatsen.nl, 03 Jan 2019) SHORT TRACK SIBLINGS His younger brother Jens also competes in short track. "The fact that the bond between us is so close also has to do with the move from Canada to the Netherlands. That made us need each other very much. We arrived in a foreign country, did not know the language. We had a lot of support for each other. We spend all the time together on the ice. We give each other technical instructions, try to make each other better. If I don't qualify for the final and Jens does, then I will be very happy for him. If Jens continues and I don't, then I don't feel like I've lost. It will be annoying if we both lose." (schaatsen.nl, 19 Oct 2023; helden.media, 28 Jul 2022)

www.facebook.com/Melle-Van-t-Wout-577621665996443
twitter.com/vantwoutjes

Sporting philosophy / motto	"Go big or go home." (Facebook profile, 01 Oct 2020)
Injuries	He sustained bruised ribs at the 2023 World Cup event in Dresden, Germany. (Instagram profile, 10 Feb 2023) In December 2021 he sustained a back injury. (Instagram profile, 19 Jan 2022; schaatsen.nl, 31 Dec 2021)