Irene Schouten is a Dutch speed skater who competes in allround marathon and inline-skating events. She is a five-time Olympic medalist and a triple Olympic Champion, having won the 3,000m, 5,000m, and mass start events at the Beijing 2022 Olympics. She is also the Olympic record holder in 3,000m and 5,000m. At the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics, she won the bronze medal in the mass start.
Irene Schouten was born on June 21, 1992, in Zwaagdijk-Oost, Netherlands. She started in sports from an early age and was fond of speed skating. As a junior, she won the World Cup in Groningen and Collalbo at 3,000m.
Irene Schouten’s started her career in the 2009/2010 season. She then skated for the Noord-Holland/Utrecht region and then qualified for the Dutch Championship Single Distance 2010, where she finished 18th in the 3,000m.
In the 2010/2011 season, Irene Schouten qualified for the Dutch Single Distances Championships on four distances. She finished fourth in the 3,000m and was therefore allowed to compete in World Cup competitions. After she missed the 1,500m, she finished sixth in the 5,000m and just missed out on a second World Cup ticket.
For the 2011/2012 season, she had to drop the Dutch Single Distances Championships because, as it turned out, her thyroid function was disturbed. Medications had to remedy this, but the medication took a while to take effect, so she could only enter the second part of the season. Instead, she drove a modified schedule. She finished second in the second marathon in Amsterdam, after Tilburg.
In September 2012, Irene Schouten, together with Elma de Vries and Manon Kamminga, won a gold medal at the World Championships inline skating in the relay race. In the skating season that followed, Irene Schouten wanted to win a ticket for the World Cup on the mass start, which initially failed. On January 2, 2013, she still managed to get the ticket, by winning the first Dutch mass start. She then also won the marathon on the natural ice in Gramsbergen on January 17, after having been second in Noordlaren and Haaksbergen in the days before. In Thialf, Irene Schouten won her first World Cup race on the mass start.
During the second Dutch Marathon Cup competition in Thialf on October 19, 2013, Irene Schouten entered the books as the 1000th marathon winner. On March 2, 2014, she surprisingly finished third at the Dutch Allround in Amsterdam, so she grabbed one of the tickets for the World Allround Championships in Thialf.
On February 15, 2015, at the World Single Distance Championships in Heerenveen, Irene Schouten became the world champion in the mass start. On January 3, 2016, she won her first Dutch title in marathon skating, a year later she extended her marathon title.
On February 10, 2019, Irene Schouten won her second world title on the mass start during the World Distance Championships held in Inzell (Germany).
At the 2021 World Distance Championships in Heerenveen, Irene Schouten won the 5,000m and was part of the gold team pursuit team. At the European Allround Championships, she came second. Finally, she won the World Cup in both the long distances (3,000m) and the mass start.
The following World Cup season started with only long-distance and mass starts wins. In Salt Lake City, Irene Schouten dived more than a second under the Dutch record in the 3,000m.
At the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Irene Schouten became the most successful Dutch Olympic athlete of the event by winning four medals, including three gold. In comparison: Schouten would have ranked 13th in the overall medal ranking by country. Irene Schouten is the current Olympic and Dutch record holder in the 5,000m. After her success, she was awarded the Dutch Sportswoman of the Year.
Irene Schouten photos
