WELCOME, 
I AM STEPHAN VAN DER ZWAARD

A SPORT SCIENTIST, DATA SCIENTIST AND ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
IN DATA SCIENCE AND EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY

Personal mission

I have always been fascinated by exercise physiology and understanding how humans improve their physical performance.

I was first inspired when I attended a physical testing session of the former Jumbo-Visma speed skating team and saw the exceptional performance of speed skaters after years of training.

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With my background in sports, physiology and data science, I am a researcher that aims to unravel how humans adapt to training and improve their exercise tolerance and physical performance. 

Physiological profile

During my PhD, I investigated critical physiological determinants of sprint and endurance performances in elite athletes.

I specialised in exercise physiology, molecular biology and muscle anatomy (including state-of-the-art 3D ultrasound imaging), with a particular interest in skeletal muscles. Using various techniques,
I established novel physiological profiles that display individual strengths and
weaknesses of an athlete.

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Sport Data Valley

In addition, I work as a data scientist in the Sport Data Valley-team to develop the national research and analytics platform for sports data in the Netherlands. This platform enables athletes, coaches and researchers to gain more insights from their sports data.

I created applications for training monitoring and training prescription in close collaboration with sports practitioners, which are used by professional coaches in the Netherlands.

Want to learn more on how you can use these applications for your own benefit? Then watch my webinar for the International Speedskating Union or feel free to take a look at info.sportdatavalley.nl