Men
DEN
Philip Due Schmidt
DEN- Date of birth10 Feb 1997
- Height1790 CM
- ProfessionAthlete
- HometownCopenhagen
- Place of birthCopenhagen
- Start skating / Club He took up roller speed skating in 2003 in Copenhagen, Denmark, and began speed skating in 2010 at a training camp in Berlin, Germany. / HLF72: Copenhagen, DEN
- HobbiesCycling, hiking, nutrition, photography, exploring and learning about other cultures. (Athlete, 09 Nov 2023)
- LanguagesDanish, English, German
- Other namePhilly, Duen ["Meaning 'the pigeon' - it's 'due' to my middle name."] (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023)
- CoachKalon Dobbin, NZL
- ChoreographerN/A
- Former CoachN/A
- Practice low seasonN/A
- Practice high seasonN/A
- General Interest
- Sport Specific Information
"Enjoy the process." (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023)
Danish road cyclist Jonas Vingegaard. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023)
His brother Stefan Due Schmidt. "He is everything to me and without him I wouldn't have achieved anything in this sport." (Athlete, 09 Nov 2023)
In February 2023 he suffered an epileptic seizure at his hotel room in Heerenveen, the Netherlands. He was in a coma for two days and did not compete for six months. (dr.dk, 16 Aug 2023, 02 Mar 2023; Instagram profile, 20 Apr 2023, 06 Mar 2023)
In May 2022 he underwent surgery for chronic compartment syndrome, which had affected his shins for a number of years. (Instagram profile, 19 May 2022)
He suffered a broken scapula [shoulder blade] in a cycling accident in October 2019. He was back on the ice within one week and competed at the 2019 World Cup event in Minsk, Belarus. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023; SportsDeskOnline, 20 Jan 2021; Instagram profile, 31 Oct 2019)
He broke his jaw while inline skating in 2014. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023, 16 Jan 2021)
In May 2022 he underwent surgery for chronic compartment syndrome, which had affected his shins for a number of years. (Instagram profile, 19 May 2022)
He suffered a broken scapula [shoulder blade] in a cycling accident in October 2019. He was back on the ice within one week and competed at the 2019 World Cup event in Minsk, Belarus. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023; SportsDeskOnline, 20 Jan 2021; Instagram profile, 31 Oct 2019)
He broke his jaw while inline skating in 2014. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023, 16 Jan 2021)
To compete at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina. (Athlete, 09 Nov 2023)
"Coming back to the sport I love after I almost died [due to an epileptic seizure] in Heerenveen one week before the world championships in 2023." (Athlete, 09 Nov 2023)
SEIZURE
He was in a coma for two days after having an epileptic seizure in his hotel room ahead of the 2023 World Championships in Heerenveen, Netherlands. He was unable to compete for six months. "I had an extremely bad headache [when he woke up from his coma]. Both from the seizure, but also because I hit my head when I fell over. I wondered whether I would ever get over it. It was one of the hardest things. When I was fully focused on doing my best, and then I was still hit by a relapse. Fortunately, it has helped me that, as an athlete, I am used to listening to my body and I am used to pushing myself to do what is needed. I have just said this to people many times, and I know it's a cliche, but that sometimes you have to experience the bad things before you really get a different view of life. It has changed me a little, especially if I experience others complaining. A hard training session, if people are tired, or they don't give 100%, I often think, "Do you realise how lucky you are that you can do this sport as your job and you have this opportunity?'" (dr.dk, 16 Aug 2023)
MEDIA WORK
He worked as a commentator for Danish television during the Olympic Winter Games in 2018 and 2022. (LinkedIn profile, 30 Sep 2022)
PODCAST
In 2019 he and his brother Stefan launched The Due Power Podcast, which covers both speed skating and roller speed skating. "The episodes include friends and fellow speed skaters where we discuss various subjects and themes." (spreaker.com, 29 Nov 2020)
He was in a coma for two days after having an epileptic seizure in his hotel room ahead of the 2023 World Championships in Heerenveen, Netherlands. He was unable to compete for six months. "I had an extremely bad headache [when he woke up from his coma]. Both from the seizure, but also because I hit my head when I fell over. I wondered whether I would ever get over it. It was one of the hardest things. When I was fully focused on doing my best, and then I was still hit by a relapse. Fortunately, it has helped me that, as an athlete, I am used to listening to my body and I am used to pushing myself to do what is needed. I have just said this to people many times, and I know it's a cliche, but that sometimes you have to experience the bad things before you really get a different view of life. It has changed me a little, especially if I experience others complaining. A hard training session, if people are tired, or they don't give 100%, I often think, "Do you realise how lucky you are that you can do this sport as your job and you have this opportunity?'" (dr.dk, 16 Aug 2023)
MEDIA WORK
He worked as a commentator for Danish television during the Olympic Winter Games in 2018 and 2022. (LinkedIn profile, 30 Sep 2022)
PODCAST
In 2019 he and his brother Stefan launched The Due Power Podcast, which covers both speed skating and roller speed skating. "The episodes include friends and fellow speed skaters where we discuss various subjects and themes." (spreaker.com, 29 Nov 2020)
He represented Denmark in roller speed skating at the 2019 World Roller Games in Barcelona, Spain. (SportsDeskOnline, 12 Nov 2021)
He always races with new laces that are well waxed. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023)
He trains on average for 16 hours each week.
His brother and his father were skaters and encouraged him to take up the sport. "I wanted to become a soccer player just like all my friends, but my parents told me I had to do one inline skating training session to see if I liked it and if not I could focus on soccer. Fortunately, I loved skating from the first try." He made the switch to skating on ice after the International Skating Union [ISU] set up a development programme involving athletes from Denmark, Finland, and Sweden.
Kalon Dobbin, NZL
