After father Arnold (55), sons Danny (26) and Maikel (24), the youngest son Remco (20) of the Stam family from Sprang-Capelle is now also taking big steps as a skating professional. With a father who skated marathons at a high level for years, it was not surprising that his children also chose this sport. Remco is a huge fan of skating on natural ice: “When there is natural ice, I have trouble sleeping at night because I really feel like skating.”
Father Arnold Stam was best known for his fifth place in the last Elfstedentocht in 1997. Eldest brother Danny is a good marathon skater, just like Maikel (24), who is also a talented cyclist. “It was instilled in us from a young age. There was even a time where the three of us skated in the same group. It’s great that we share our passion,” says Remco. “It was a great advantage that we could all skate well. If one of us was less interested in training, we would take each other in tow.”
“Now that we are a bit older, we each have our own lives and training schedules, but of course we still talk a lot about the sport together. Although within our family it is not just about skating or cycling, we can talk about anything.”
“Artificial ice is fun, but we do it for natural ice.”
Remco grew up as a marathon skater. And what could be better than being able to rack up your kilometers on natural ice, like last Tuesday in Winterswijk. “I’ve been watching the news a lot this week. Because artificial ice is fun and it is warmer in the hall, but we do it for natural ice. When it’s available, I’m usually one of the first to see it. I have trouble sleeping at night because I feel like skating. I used to have that as a child. I would stand by my parents’ bedside at six o’clock because I wanted to go with them to the ice.”
In his youth, Remco was known as a great talent. The well-known skating team Jumbo-Visma had high expectations and signed him. At the end of last year he extended his contract until 2025. Remco will move to the long track team next season. “This season I am combining the long track with the marathons, but from next season I will focus more on the long track. I will certainly not give up marathon skating, because I need both sports. For example, the hardness in the marathon helps me during the last laps on the track.”
“I’m having so much fun with it.”
Remco moved to Heerenveen for the sport. He recently impressed at his home track Thialf during the National Distance Championships. He finished sixth in the 5,000 meters and seventh in the 10,000 meters. In Friesland he hopes to take the step to the top in the coming years. “If I look at my times on the track compared to last year, I have exceeded my expectations. My career is gaining momentum. I also enjoy it so much.”