Interview with Michel Mulder (500m 2012 World Champion)

Fast facts

Name: Mulder
First name : Michel
Nickname: Mich
Date of birth: February 27th, 1986
Height: 184 cm
Weight: 80 kg
Born in: Zwolle (Netherlands)
Lives in: Heerenveen
Country: Netherlands
Started skating in: 1993
Category: Senior
Job: roller/ice-skater
Strengths: Sprint
Points to improve: Corners
Other sports: Likes almost every sports
The last film he saw: Untouchables
Favorite music: Train, The Script, Gavin Degraw, Jason Mraz
Video games: FIFA 13, Call of Duty MW3 on xbox
Readings: some dutch books (not a lot)
Likes: having fun
Dislikes: not having fun
Qualities: Social
Faults: Everything is a game and he always wants to win. Sometimes that is annoying!
Club: SKOV Heerde
Team: National team
Best memory: Winning the 500m at the world’s
Worst memory: Worlds Gijon 2008. He was really bad.
Languages: Dutch, English, little bit German
Alcohol or fruit juice? Fruit juice but in between the season alcohol
(a little bit)
Ice-skating or roller-skating? Both. He cannot choose!
Road or track? Road
Sprint or marathon? Sprint
Hard or soft wheels? Hard
Beach or montain? Beach with mountains close. He loved San benedetto for that.
Morning or evening? Evening
Cheese or dessert? Cheese
Rap or techno? Techno
Soccer or rugby? Soccer
Simple or double push? Double push

Prize list (inline-skating)

• 500m road 2012 World Champion
• Bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships on 500m road
• Bronze medal at the 2012 World Championships on 200m road
• 6 times Silver medal winner at European Championships (relay included 2x)
• 6 times bronze medal winner at European Championships (relay included 3x)

Prize list (ice-skating)

• Silver medal on 500m at 2012 World Single Distance Championships
• 500m Worldcup Winner in Berlin (March 2012)
• Silver at Worldcup on 500m in Heerenveen (March 2012 )

Interview…

How old were you when you started roller-skating?

I started when I was 7 years old. My brother was doing inline and ice-skating so I started that sport too. I was raised in a very big family. I have 5 brothers altogether. Me and Ronald are the youngest. In a boy-only family, we were always competing with each other for everything, and it already started when I was young. In inline skating, we (ronald and me) were always close to the podium or a whisker away from winning. But in ice-skating, we were never really good. It all started when we turned 18.

Then, you were better on inline skates… But today you practice both sports at a high level?

Yes, I do. Well… I got a World Champion title on inline skates and a second place by 0,01 on ice. Both on 500m.

So you really improved on ice-skating. Can you explain why ?

Technically, I improved a lot. And with inline skating, I had the chance to train at a high level and it helped me getting stronger on ice too.

Did you try other practices than speed-skating? (within roller-skating and outside of roller-skating)

I did soccer but I stopped after a year because of a mercury poisoning. My brother Ronald and I got the same disease. I was in the hospital for 8 weeks. That was pretty heavy. It was a hard time but it went away by itself. Only 6 years later, the doctors discovered what it was… in reading an article in a French medical magazine about a girl who suffered from the same thing… They didn’t know back then!

What are your favorite types of races now ?

The races where I am able to put all my power down. So usually, it is on a big track or a road course with the highest top speed.

Do you earn your life with skating?

I do because of ice-skating! It is popular in Holland, so you can earn money with it.

Are there a lot of skaters earning their livings with skating in your country ?

With ice-skating some are making money but they are not earning their livings. It is more about getting money so that they do not have to work and try everything for the sport. With inline-skating, nobody makes money in Holland.
I have a nice sponsor for inline but I need the ice, otherwise I would have to work.

What do you like in speed-skating ?

The speed, the game with other skaters on the track, the sun…

How many workouts per day and per week?

I’m training 6 days a week. 5 days twice, and 1 day just once.
Almost every week in the winter is the same because I have races in the weekend.
In summer, I can train more heavily because we don’t have races every week.
I also do biking, power-training, sprint running, and of course inline and ice.

Do you have a team or a sponsor for next year?

I have a team for ice-skating and I am part of the national inline selection. Both great teams to be part of…
My sponsors are Unive for summer and www.beslist.nl for winter.

Who are your main opponents?

In Holland, we do not have a lot of sprinters. Right now, the second sprinter is Mark Horsten. Next year, my brother Ronald will be competing again so I will get another opponent.

How do you share your time between ice and inline skating ?

I have a big break after the ice-season. In summer, I do 2 weeks of “summer ice”. After summer, I take only one week off. So I have started ice-skating again right now.

What are your hobbies ? I noticed a few music photos on facebook….

I like to play guitar and sometimes I have a go at piano, or otherwise, I hang out with friends!

Can you tell us a few words about your feelings after this World Championship in Italy?

It was amazing! I won the 500m. It was a big goal for me. I was happy with my medal on the 200m. It was the first time trial medal ever for Holland.

Next year, the World Champs will be close to home for you. What are your goals?

I want to try to win a gold medal again. I want to improve my time trial, so that I can come closer to Joseba Fernandez. The gap was too big at this championship! (laughs)

Roller-skating seems to grow in your country… How do you explain that ?

Ice-skating is already popular. It is easy to combine the 2 sports. A lot of young people can see that it is also possible to do both sports at a high level, just like I do. I hope that many kids will get inspired and try to do the same.

How do you see your future in roller-skating?

I hope that it will become an olympic sport. I will keep skating for a while too. It is nice to combine roller-skating with ice-skating, and for the moment I can make a living out of it, so as long as I can, I will keep doing that.

Video

Powerslide – 2012 Worlds VideoLog 27 – Men 500m final from Powerslide TV on Vimeo.

Links

Last day on the road of San Benedetto: 500m

By Alfathor
Photos: © team beslist.nl, Gemesi Balazs and timsimaging.nl