I am Dutch born, but because of Canada, I'm headed to the PyeongChang Olympics as a world-record holder.

I'm better today because I was embraced by the Canadian long track speed skating team. While Holland gave me my start, it was my father's birth country that gave me my future.

Representing Canada is the ultimate goal, and my Olympic dreams are fuelled by a life-altering performance at the beginning of last winter…

Salt Lake City (Nov. 21, 2015): Halfway through the World Cup race I found myself on a pace that would lead to a world-record setting time in the 10,000 metres. At first the crowd was cheering loudly for me. They liked my fast start. But later on, as the stadium announcer got more enthusiastic, the crowd got quiet. I was keeping my world-record-pace going, lap after lap.

Could this really happen? I had never been close to a world record, never won a World Cup. So nobody ever thought I could do this. As the final laps approached, the crowd picked up again and started going wild. At this stage it was inevitable: the eight-year-old world record would be broken! It was the best and most consistent race I ever skated, and when I crossed the finish line and looked up for my time I saw: 12 minutes 36.30 seconds, more than five seconds faster than anyone had ever skated.

After years in the famous Dutch skating system, I broke this record as a Canadian skater. How did that happen?