© Ylja Geertsma
Olympic Champion | Coach | Speaker on Resilience, Variety, and Sustainable Performance
Bob de Jong
As an Olympic speed skating champion, Bob de Jong knows what it takes to remain at the world’s top for years. His stories convey a surprising lesson: variety is not a distraction from your goal; it is a prerequisite for endurance.
Languages:
Employability:
Keynote spreker
Employability:
Keynote spreker,
About Bob de Jong
Bob de Jong is among the most successful long-track speed skaters the Netherlands has produced. As a five-time Olympian and four-time medalist, he remained at the world’s top for over twenty years. His career was marked by discipline, perseverance, but above all, variety.
While many top athletes focus entirely on one form of training, Bob deliberately chose a broad approach. He trained not only on the ice but also cycled, ran, skied, played tennis, and later even hockey. Both on the field and on the ice. He climbed mountains on skis, descended telemarking, and cycled through Seoul and Salt Lake City to the ice rink instead of taking the bus. This versatility kept his body balanced and his mind sharp.
His approach was not always conventional. When he decided to work with a sports psychologist, it clashed with the established order, but it proved to be a turning point. By thinking outside the box, Bob discovered the power of change. He learned that variation is not a distraction from your goal but a prerequisite for endurance.
After 22 years in top sports and three years as a coach in Asia, where he worked in South Korea, Canada, and China, Bob now shares his insights on sustainable performance, mental resilience, and the importance of variety. His stories are full of relatable lessons for teams and organizations that want to stay dynamic in a constantly changing world.
With down-to-earth humor, energy, and a wealth of experience, Bob inspires his audience not to fear change but to use it as fuel for growth. Because those who dare to vary not only perform better but do so with joy.