Men
NED
Melle VAN 'T WOUT
NED- Date of birth18 Feb 2000
- HeightN/A
- ProfessionAthlete
- HometownSintjohannesga
- Place of birthLaren
- Start skating / Club He began playing ice hockey in 2005 with the Bracebridge Bears club in Ontario, Canada, and got involved in short track at Barrie Speed Skating Club eight years later. He decided to pursue the sport at age 14 after moving back to the Netherlands. Trias Shorttrack: Leeuwarden, NED
- HobbiesListening to music. (nocnsf.nl, 01 Jan 2017)
- LanguagesDutch, English, French, German
- CoachN/A
- ChoreographerN/A
- Former CoachN/A
- Practice low seasonN/A
- Practice high seasonN/A
- General Interest
- Sport Specific Information
"Go big or go home." (Facebook profile, 01 Oct 2020)
In 2025-26 Van ‘t Wout returned from a serious knee injury that kept him out for nearly two years and required surgery. “It was mentally tough,” he said. “Skating is what I love the most. Unfortunately it’s my second big injury, I also had a back injury four years ago, so I knew about that dark hole you fall in. You can’t train, you’re not seeing your teammates. I missed my brother a lot. But [his brother] Jens kicking ass really motivated me and dragged me through the slump. Seeing your brother win, it gives you energy, and I want to win with him now. Doing relays with him, traveling together, rooming together again – all those little things, that’s what motivated me to fight back.”(isu-skating.com/short-track, 21 November 2025).
EARLY DAYS
He moved to Canada at a young age and played ice hockey for eight years while he was at school there. However, his parents insisted he quit the sport after he sustained a number of injuries. "I thought ice hockey was a great sport with lots of action and you have to think carefully. It was also a fierce sport with many risks. When I was age 14, for example, I suffered a concussion during a competition. At first I thought that [being told to give up ice hockey] was a shame. I was disappointed and I missed my teammates. Ice hockey is a team sport and within such a team you do everything for each other. We really stood up for each other." (helden.media, 28 Jul 2022; volkskrant.nl, 03 Jan 2021; vantwoutjes.nl, 01 Dec 2019; schaatsen.nl, 03 Jan 2019)
SHORT TRACK SIBLINGS
His younger brother Jens also competes in short track. "The fact that the bond between us is so close also has to do with the move from Canada to the Netherlands. That made us need each other very much. We arrived in a foreign country, did not know the language. We had a lot of support for each other. We spend all the time together on the ice. We give each other technical instructions, try to make each other better. If I don't qualify for the final and Jens does, then I will be very happy for him. If Jens continues and I don't, then I don't feel like I've lost. It will be annoying if we both lose." (schaatsen.nl, 19 Oct 2023; helden.media, 28 Jul 2022)
He moved to Canada at a young age and played ice hockey for eight years while he was at school there. However, his parents insisted he quit the sport after he sustained a number of injuries. "I thought ice hockey was a great sport with lots of action and you have to think carefully. It was also a fierce sport with many risks. When I was age 14, for example, I suffered a concussion during a competition. At first I thought that [being told to give up ice hockey] was a shame. I was disappointed and I missed my teammates. Ice hockey is a team sport and within such a team you do everything for each other. We really stood up for each other." (helden.media, 28 Jul 2022; volkskrant.nl, 03 Jan 2021; vantwoutjes.nl, 01 Dec 2019; schaatsen.nl, 03 Jan 2019)
SHORT TRACK SIBLINGS
His younger brother Jens also competes in short track. "The fact that the bond between us is so close also has to do with the move from Canada to the Netherlands. That made us need each other very much. We arrived in a foreign country, did not know the language. We had a lot of support for each other. We spend all the time together on the ice. We give each other technical instructions, try to make each other better. If I don't qualify for the final and Jens does, then I will be very happy for him. If Jens continues and I don't, then I don't feel like I've lost. It will be annoying if we both lose." (schaatsen.nl, 19 Oct 2023; helden.media, 28 Jul 2022)
His parents did not want him to go further with ice hockey because he had sustained too many injuries. Coach Wilma Boomstra from Sint Jacobiparochie, Netherlands, then invited him and his younger brother Jens to compete in short track. "It didn't go so well. We applied ice hockey techniques to short track skating and had to get used to it. I don't know how, but she saw talent in us."