How Dutch skating phenomenon Joy Beune shocked the world

Joy Beune has been a big name at the top of the skating world for some time now. But the Dutch athlete's career has had its ups and downs.

Beune is one of the best Dutch skaters of the moment, so let's take a look back at her career to date.

Beune was born in the Dutch town of Borne on 28 April 1999 and started skating at the age of nine at a local club. She later joined RTC Oost, a Dutch speed skating team that aims to develop young talents into top skaters.

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She showed her class from a very young age and has enjoyed great success in the junior category. She won gold in the 3000m at the 2017 World Junior Speed Skating Championships. The following year, she dominated the 1000m, 1500m and 3000m, winning all three events while setting world junior records.

In 2018, she joined the renowned LottoNL-Jumbo team and signed a two-year contract. She broke some of her personal bests and then extended her contract for a further two years.

In 2022, she took up a new challenge and moved to Team IKO, a team that was founded in 2017.

In 2023, Beune took to the ice with big ambitions, one of which was to shine at the World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships in Thialf, Heerenveen, one of the world's most epic ice rinks.

Things were looking up for Beune and her team-mates in the team pursuit. They set the fastest time, but then fate got the better of them when it was revealed that the Netherlands had been disqualified because Beune's ankle had been exposed during the race, which is not allowed. Pure joy turned into despair in an instant, with Canada taking the gold. "I ruined it," Beune said after the race, according to Dutch news outlet Nu.

However, the year 2023 still held some drama for Beune. During a World Cup race in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland, Beune forgot to put on her transponders, which are used to record the skater's time. The Dutch team once again set the fastest time, but were disqualified. "I looked for my transponders before the race, but they were gone. Someone took them. Although the rule is clear, I just started," Beune explained to Dutch public broadcaster NOS.

The Dutch skater clearly felt guilty, but didn't let that stop her from achieving her next goals. At the end of 2023, Beune took revenge by winning gold at the Daikin Dutch Speed Skating Single Distances Championships in the 1500m and silver in the 5000m. Early 2024, she then took gold in the team pursuit and bronze in the 1500m at the European Speed Skating Championships.

Away from the rink, Beune is very popular on Instagram, where her 307,000 followers (and counting) can take a look behind the scenes of her life and enjoy photos of her travels, outfits and training sessions. She also occasionally posts photos of brands for which she is an ambassador.

Picture credit: Instagram, @joybeune

And from time to time, Beune also posts a photo of herself with fellow skater Kjeld Nuis, with whom she has been in a relationship since 2019, per Libelle.

Picture credit: Instagram, @joybeune

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