Marnix ten Kortenaar

Marnix ten Kortenaar, born in the Netherlands, made his international début at the World Junior Championships in 1989 and 1990, where he finished sixth and fourth respectively. Unable to qualify for the strong Dutch senior team, he followed the example of Bart Veldkamp and switched nationalities, and in December 1996, Ten Kortenaar received a skating license for Austria. This enabled him to pursue his dream of taking part in the Olympic Games, which he fulfilled in 1998 in Nagano, where he finished 10th in the 5,000 metres. He also took part in six European Championships (with a best of eighth in 1998), four World Championships, one World Sprint Championships (30th in 1999), and two World Single Distance Championships (10th in the 1997 1,500). Ten Kortenaar earned a Ph.D. in chemistry at Delft University, and later worked at various multinationals, before founding his own company. Marnix’ brother, Jaap ten Kortenaar, was also an Olympian, competing in the cycling team time trial at the 1992 Olympics.

Personal Bests: 500 – 37.76 (1999); 1000 – 1:12.75 (1999); 1500 – 1:50.29 (1999); 5000 – 6:35.88 (1999); 10000 – 13:52.30 (1998).