Olympic short track champion Van Kerkhof is hanging up his skates

This article was last updated on July 23, 2024

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Olympic short track champion Van Kerkhof is hanging up his skates

Short track star Yara van Kerkhof is putting an end to her sports career.

“I never dreamed that I would have all the colors of Olympic medals. I have enjoyed it immensely, but it is now time to end this adventure. I need more time and space for other things and the people around me “, reports the 34-year-old from Zoetermeer on social media.

Van Kerkhof was part of several successful short track teams for many years. At the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2022, she celebrated her greatest triumph by winning gold in the 3,000 meter relay with Suzanne Schulting, Selma Poutsma and Xandra Velzeboer.

Four years earlier, she won Olympic bronze at that distance with Schulting, Jorien ter Mors and Lara van Ruijven.

In the 3,000 meter relay, Van Kerkhof also became world champion three times and European champion ten times with various teams. The last world title, in March this year in Rotterdam, feels like a fitting conclusion to her career for Van Kerkhof.

Of the 23 medals that Van Kerkhof collected in her short track career at the Olympic Games, World Championships and European Championships, she won 20 as part of relay teams.

At the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang in 2018, she was the first Dutch short track star ever to take individual silver (500 meters). She also won the silver medal at the European Championships in Dresden in 2018 (1,500 meters), and she also won bronze at the World Championships in Montreal in 2022 (500 meters).

Later in her career, she won World Cup gold for the first time, in the 2022/23 season in Kazakhstan.

Young heart patient

Van Kerkhof was born with a heart defect and had to undergo surgery as a child at the Sophia Children’s Hospital in Rotterdam. This was not without consequences during her sporting career.

In the run-up to the Games in Pyeongchang in 2018, Van Kerkhof was found to have abnormal blood values, which gave rise to doping suspicions. However, she was able to demonstrate that the abnormal blood values ​​were caused by the congenital defects in her heart and lungs.

Van Kerkhof has been working for some time now himself as a researcher for the Sophia Children’s Hospital. She now wants to continue doing that after ending her sporting career.