Athlete Profile: Mariska Huisman (NED), CadoMotus National Ladies

Mariska Huisman
CadoMotus National Ladies Team

Mariska enters the CadoMotus National Team mid-season, replacing Foske Tamar van der Wal following the marathon ice star's retirement from the 2007 inline season with injury - everyone at CadoMotus wishes Foske a rapid recovery and continued success on the ice this winter.

Read the Skatefan.nl report on Mariska's addition to the CadoMotus National Team.

Age: 23
D.O.B: 23.11.1983

Country: The Netherlands
Town/City: Ursem
Home Skating Club: Radboud (based in Medemblik, NL)

Single/Boyfriend/Married: Boyfriend
School/Work (Which one? Where? What do you do?):
I work at a clothing shop named Blend, it’s in Purmerend

Are there other skaters/athletes in your family?:
Everybody in my family is skating. My brother Sjoerd (currently leader of the 2007 World on Wheels NL Klassement) is one of the best Dutch skaters and my brother Mark is doing well in the B races in Holland.

How did you get started in skating?
I started to skate on ice when I was 3 years old. For inline I started much later. My older brother bought some inlineskates and just used them for training. I also wanted to have skates like that and asked my Mum. So we went to a toystore and bought some cool skates. They looked cool but the wheels didn’t roll, haha. When I was 13 I got some real skates and started to do inline races.



Mariska out in front in the Essent Cup, Marathon Speedskating
Picture courtesy Meico.nl

What are your ambitions/goals in skating?
I would love to get some good results in the World Inline Cup, for me or some of my team mates.

Why do you choose to do speed skating? Why not something else?
I started with ice skating and inline skating is a good training in the summer (the majority of the athletes competing in the World on Wheels inline criterium competition in the Netherlands are also competitors in Marathon Iceskating during the winter). It’s not only a training anymore, I love it!


Mariska, for Zuidema Kranen, leads in an Essent Cup event (Elma de Vries is pictured right, in DSB colors)
Picture courtesy Harm de Boer

What about your ambitions/goals for your life?
My boyfriend and I have started to build or own home, that will take some time. I also want to see a lot of the world.

What has been your best, or favorite, skating moment so far?
My favorite skating moment was with the European Championships in Heerde (August 2004, Holland) when we got a silver medal in the relay (In the track relay, the team for the Netherlands was Mariska Huisman, Elma de Vries & Foske Tamar van der Wal). I was skating my best Championship and it was nice to race in my own country.


Mariska, followed by Jannitta Spigt, at the European Championships Marathon
Picture courtesy Harm de Boer

What has been your WORST skating moment so far?
I have got a number of worst skating moments, these are the ones where I crashed!

What is your favorite type of skating, or your favorite event?
I love to skate on a banked track, the corners really give me the feeling of speed.

What do you think is the best/strongest thing about your own skating?
I can just keep going (Mariska has a 'big engine' and is known for her ability to work hard for long periods without any visible change to her technique).

How do you imagine the 'perfect race' is for you?
My ‘perfect race’ is a fast one, without sprints.

What is your advice to skaters who dream of racing in the World Cup... how do they get there?
When you really want to skate the World Cup… Try to start a new team! It’s always good to have new teams and more people at the start.

Who is another skater/athlete that you look up to?
Joey Mantia, cause he’s such a strong skater. And my little brother (Mark Huisman) because of his technique, he skates like it costs no energy…

Who is a young skater that you think has a big future in the sport (who is your tip to be the next champion)?
Oh, she is in my team... You will see!


Mariska Huisman
Picture courtesy Zuidema Kranen

Career Highlights
World
- Member, Netherlands World Team 2004 (Italy)
Other International
- Relay Gold Medallist, European Championships 2000 (Hungary)
- Time Trial Silver Medallist, European Championships 2000 (Hungary)
- Relay Silver Medallist, European Championships 2004 (Netherlands)
National
- Bronze Medallist, Netherlands Championship Marathon 2007
- Numerous podium finishes in the World on Wheels, Netherlands
Results from Other Sports
- Dutch Overall Junior (Ice) Speedskating Champion, 2001
- 3rd place, Dutch Overall Junior Speedskating Championships, 2002
- Dutch Overall Junior Speedskating Champion, 2003
- 3rd place at 200km Speedskating Marathon (Weissensee, Austria), 2006