Born in Drachten, Douwe Amels' family was interested in athletics and joined Impala, a local club, to work with coach Hans-Jörg Thomaskamp.

[5] Amels was selected to compete for the Netherlands at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, but at that competition he was some way off his new best, being eliminated in the qualifying rounds with a best jump of 2.17 m (7 ft 1+1⁄4 in).

He failed to improve upon his best in the 2014 and 2015 seasons (jumping 2.23 m and 2.24 m, respectively),[6] though he was also undertaking a degree in corporate law at the Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam during this period.

[4] Amels appeared for the Netherlands at the 2014 European Team Championships Super League, placing ninth, and jumped in the qualifying round of the 2015 Summer Universiade.

[1] At the 2023 European Indoor Championships in Istanbul, the 31-year-old equalled Wilbert Pennings' Dutch record of 2.31 m dating back to 2002 to claim the gold medal, the biggest success of his career up to that point.