Daan dreams of the Games
‘My studies will still be there after 2026’
February 2026. The month has been circled in thick marker in Daan Kos’ diary. That’s when the Olympic Winter Games will take place in Milan. It’s the tournament Daan is living towards and training for. ‘My biggest goal as an athlete is to make it to the Olympics. That’s what everyone’s focused on.’
But that requires quite a bit of work. And so he goes to skating Valhalla Thialf in Friesland every day to train. ‘Every morning starts with two hours of warming up on the ice. In the afternoon, we often do ninety minutes of strength training or cycling.’
Right now, his life is even more hectic than normal. Because Daan, who’s been on the national short-track team since 2023, is in the middle of the short-track season. That means that one week, he has a Dutch championship here, and a World Tour race on the other side of the world the next. ‘This season, I’ve been to Montreal, Seoul, and Beijing’, he says.
Not that he has a lot of time to do any sightseeing. The race always comes first. The closer he gets, the more he spends his time only on the ice and in his hotel room. ‘But it’s still nice if there’s a little time to look around. We often arrive a week in advance, which means I can spend the first few days in the city.’
International top athletes
His star has been on the rise since he joined the national short-track team a year and a half ago. At all the important Short-Track World Tour races, Daan is getting increasingly closer to the finals, and he and his team have a good chance of ending in the top three for the relay race. ‘I’ve realised that I can compete with international top athletes.’
The highlight of his skating career so far is probably the bronze medal he won during the Dutch 1,000 metre championship on January 11 and 12, although he has mixed feelings about it. ‘I didn’t do that great on my first day. I wasn’t sharp enough. Fortunately, I did better on the second day and got third place in the 1,000 metre race, which is the distance I’m best at.’
There are so many things happening that you can’t anticipate
In spite of that, he did best on the 1,500 metres during the European championship in Dresden the weekend after, on January 18 and 19. Daan came fifth in the finals. With this, he redeemed himself for his performance at the European championship two years ago, when he made a false start. ‘I was out immediately. I did woefully bad at that championship, so I was hoping to redeem myself this year.’
He specifically enjoys the speed and unpredictability of the sport. ‘There are so many things happening that you can’t anticipate.’
The more experienced guys also give him tips. ‘They’ll tell me about their warming up and their cooling down, but also when the best time is to eat so you are properly prepared for the race.’
Speed skating
Short track wasn’t his first love, though. When he was six years old, when the rivers still froze over in winter, he was a long-range speed skater. ‘I loved it and was on the ice almost every day that I could’, he says. ‘That’s when my parents suggested I take ice-skating classes. I haven’t really stopped since.’
After a while though, the long-range skating started to get boring. ‘Short track was pretty much the only alternative’, he says. ‘It’s much more exciting. Short track is also more of a team sport than long-range skating, which I like.’
Short track is more of a team sport, which I like
But it’s also the most dangerous type of ice skating. People fall. A lot. ‘My teammate Jens van ‘t Wout once took a blade to the face, which gave him a scar. That’s just about the last thing you want to have happen.’
Since that accident, short-track skaters can wear a plastic visor for protection. But only a few ice skaters actually wear them. ‘It’s up to ourselves’, says Daan. ‘But it’s possible that in the future, they’ll decide it’s so dangerous that it becomes mandatory.’
So far, he’s decided not to wear a mask, but he might change his mind for next season. ‘I’m considering it’, he explains. ‘But I’m wondering how much air I’ll get when I’m skating my fastest.’
Studying
While short track is very important to him, he doesn’t want to put all his eggs in one basket. That’s why he started studying biology in 2022. He picked Groningen because it’s the closest town to Thialf. ‘It’s difficult to make any money being a top-class athlete’, he says.
Long-range skating teams are commercial, so those ice skaters make good money. But short track only has the national selection. ‘Only the top five men and women are paid a salary by the ice skating association and the NOC*NSF. But there are twelve of us, so we’re all fighting for a spot in that top five.’
It’s difficult to make any money being a top-class athlete
The rest of the team gets a small allowance, but it’s not enough to live off.
Combining his studies and his skating career isn’t always easy. ‘I’m often really tired after an entire day of training, which means it’s hard to focus on my studies.’
That’s why his studies are less of a priority for the coming year. ‘You can only be a top-class athlete for so long, so that’s what I’m focusing on right now’, he says. ‘My studies will still be there after 2026.’
For now, he is focusing on his Olympic dream. ‘I’m pretty young. Right now I want to focus on winning an individual medal at the World Tour races. But looking at the way I’ve been progressing lately, I definitely think I’ll be able to place in the Olympics.’