It was at the age of five when Cornelius first stepped onto the ice, joining his father and two brothers at the local ice rink. This was where he discovered his love for ice skating and joined the ice-skating club. Under the guidance of his coach, Cornelius honed his skills and quickly rose through the ranks of the junior skating circuit.
As Cornelius grew older, his talent and dedication to the sport earned him recognition and accolades. Despite his early success, Kersten faced a setback when he was unable to secure a place in the Dutch Juniors. However, he did not let this discourage him and instead took the bold decision to represent Great Britain, which allowed him to continue his skating career.
Since joining the British team in 2014, Kersten has made remarkable progress, establishing himself as one of the top skaters in the country. He has competed in several international events, including the World Cup, the European Championships, and the World Championships, and has delivered impressive performances, even though getting funding was hard.
To fund his Olympic dream he set up Brew’22 with girlfriend Ellia Smeding. They sourced our own high-quality beans and set up a web shop, selling the unique single-cup filters, bags of beans and specialty accessories in the hope that coffee lovers would find then, love their coffee and support their Olympic journey at the same time.
Kersten’s hard work and dedication paid off, and in 2022 he was selected to represent Great Britain at the Beijing Winter Olympics. This was a historic moment for British speed skating, as it marked the first time in 30 years that a British skater had qualified for the Olympics. To top it off, he finished 9th in the 1.000m, just 0,3 seconds from a bronze medal!
Kersten is set to take his career to the next level as an integral part of Team Novus!
