Stijn Desmet (born 10 April 1998) is a Belgian

short track speed skater Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice skating, ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of . The rink itself is long by wide, which is the s ...

Biography

Desmet was born in

Duffel Duffel () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Belgium, Belgian province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality comprises the town of Duffel proper. On 1 January 2020, Duffel had a total population of 17,664. The total ar ...

, lives in

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

, and is the younger brother of short track speed skater and Olympic bronze medalist Hanne Desmet. Desmet started short track speed skating at a club in Wilrijk at the age of 10. In 2012, he was scouted by the Belgian short track national team coach Pieter Gysel to participate in the Sport Vlaanderen supported project "Be Gold" to train talented youth professionally in

Hasselt Hasselt (, , ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium. As of 1 August 2023, Hasselt had a total population of 80,846. The old ...

, with the Winter Olympics as the main goal. Desmet is the Belgian record holder in the 500 meters. At the

2016 Winter Youth Olympics The 2016 Winter Youth Olympics (; ), officially known as the II Winter Youth Olympic Games, took place in and around Lillehammer, Norway, from 12 to 21 February 2016. They were the fourth Youth Olympic Games and the second winter edition. Lilleha ...

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...

, Norway, he won a gold medal in the mixed relay event in an international team, alongside Desmet consisting of Quentin Fercoq (France), Ane Farstad (Norway) and Kim Ji-yoo (South Korea). At the

2020 European Short Track Speed Skating Championships The 2020 European Short Track Speed Skating Championships were held from 24 to 26 January 2020 at the Főnix Hall in Debrecen, Hungary. Medal summary Medal table Men's events Women's events References External linksOfficial websiteResult ...

, Desmet finished 2nd in the closing super final, making him 5th in the final standings. At the 2021 European Short Track Speed Skating Championships, he was 12th in the final standings, and at the World Cup that year, Desmet finished in 9th place. At the

Short track speed skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics Short track speed skating at the Winter Olympics, Short track speed skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China. The events took place between 5 and 16 February 2022. A total of nine short track s ...

in Beijing, Desmet was eliminated in the heats of the

1000 metres The 1000 metres, 1 kilometer run, or 1K run is an uncommon middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. It consists of two and a half laps around an outdoor 400 m track, or five laps around an indoor 200 m track. The 1000 ...

due to a penalty, ended 13th in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

and was eliminated in the Quarterfinals of the

500 metres The 500 metres is an uncommon middle-distance running event in track and field and road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track a ...

. In April 2022, at the

2022 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships The 2022 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships were the 46th edition, held from April 8 to 10, 2022 at Maurice Richard Arena in Montreal, Canada. World Short Track Speed Skating Championships have been contested since 1976. Due to the CO ...

in Montreal, he won two bronze medals in one day, the 500 metres and the 1500 metres.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Desmet, Stijn 1998 births Living people Sportspeople from Duffel Belgian male short-track speed skaters Olympic short-track speed skaters for Belgium Short-track speed skaters at the 2022 Winter Olympics Short-track speed skaters at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics World Short Track Speed Skating Championships medalists 21st-century Belgian sportsmen