de JONGE Mark

General
RETIREMENT PLAN
He said the Olympic Games in Tokyo will likely be his final Games. He had considered retiring after the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, but hopes to end with a better performance than the seventh-placed finish he achieved in the K1 200m in Rio. He was also motivated by his son Max being able to see him compete at the Olympic Games in 2021. "Seventh [in Rio] is not bad. I made the final and not everyone makes the final. But to go from world champion to seventh was a shock for me. It's hard to retire from sports, especially on a bad note. I hope to be able to celebrate at the end of my last race and finish with a smile on my face. [In 2021] my son may be just old enough to remember seeing his father at the Olympics and doing great things. I wish to be a model for him. That's one of the reasons I decided to go to Tokyo. I remember some things when I was three and definitely four. To have his dad competing at the Olympics as one of his first memories is a good way to inspire him at a young age. I've done a lot in the sport and I could have retired after the 2016 Olympics knowing I had accomplished a lot of things and was happy to close that chapter in my life. But I do love this sport and I chose to do another four years and it has turned into five now [due to the postponement]." (thechronicleherald.ca, 20 Jul 2020; ici.radio-canada.ca, 30 Jul 2019)

OCCUPATION
In 2017 he founded the De Jonge Watch Company, a business selling limited edition watches. (dejongewatch.com, 01 Jan 2020)