Atje Keulen-Deelstra (31 December 1938 – 22 February 2013) was a Dutch

speed skater Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating. ...

, who was a four-time World Allround Champion between the age of 32 and 36.Atje Keulen-Deelstra
sports-reference.com

Biography

Atje Deelstra was born as the eldest of four siblings in a farmer's family. As a teenager she did gymnastics, athletics and basketball, but finally chose speed skating.Atje Keulen-Deelstra (74) overleden
frieschdagblad.nl. 23 February 2013 At the age of 16, she already won a junior title of

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

and several cash prizes in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. In 1962, she married Jelle Keulen (23 November 1931 – 28 July 2011), a farmer with whom she had three children born between 1963 and 1966.Overlijdensbericht Jelle Keulen
Leeuwarder Courant. 30 July 2011. When the

Thialf Thialf is an ice arena in Heerenveen, Netherlands. Thialf consists of the Thialf-hal (a 12,500-capacity speed skating venue) and the Elfstedenhal (a 2,500-capacity ice hockey venue). Thialf is used for long track speed skating, short track speed ...

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...

opened in 1967 in

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, fry, It Hearrenfean ) is a town and municipality in the province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the municipality had a population 50,859 (1 July). ...

, Keulen-Deelstra went there to work on a comeback. She quickly made much progress, but she was told over and over again that she was too old. Not a member of the Dutch speed skating team, she won the Dutch Allround Championships in 1970 at the age of 32, beating Dutch skating team members such as

Ans Schut Johanna ("Ans") Schut (born 26 November 1944) is a former Speed skating, ice speed skater from the Netherlands. Ans Schut had her best year in 1968 when, after winning silver at the World Allround Speed Skating Championships, World Allround Champ ...

and multiple world champion Stien Kaiser. That same year, she became World Allround Champion. More successes soon followed when in 1972, she became Dutch, European, and World Allround Champion, a feat she then repeated the following two years (1973 and 1974). In addition, at the

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Euro ...

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

, she won one silver and two bronze medals. In 1975, Keulen-Deelstra switched to

marathon skating 　 Long-track speed skating, usually simply referred to as speed skating, is the Olympic discipline of speed skating where competitors are timed while crossing a set distance. It is also a sport for leisure. Sports such as ice skating marathon, ...

and she became Dutch Champion in that discipline five times. She won her last Dutch Marathon Championships title in 1980 when she was 42 years old. In 1997, just a few weeks after having been injured in a traffic accident, Keulen-Deelstra participated in the

Elfstedentocht The ''Elfstedentocht'' (; West Frisian: ''Alvestêdetocht'' , English: ''Eleven cities tour'') is a long-distance tour skating event on natural ice, almost long, which is held both as a speed skating competition (with 300 contestants) and a lei ...

. She died of a

cerebral infarction A cerebral infarction is the pathologic process that results in an area of necrotic tissue in the brain (cerebral infarct). It is caused by disrupted blood supply ( ischemia) and restricted oxygen supply ( hypoxia), most commonly due to thromboemb ...

in 2013.Atje Keulen-Deelstra (74) overleden
nos.nl. 23 February 2013 In the 1980s and early 1990s, her daughter Boukje Keulen (born 2 December 1963) also was a successful skater. Like her mother, Boukje went from short track through long track ("regular") to

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

speed skating.

Medals

An overview of medals won by Keulen-Deelstra at important championships she participated in, listing the years in which she won each:

Dutch National Kortebaan Speed Skating Championships Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People ...

- 1969, 1976, 1977

World records

Over the course of her career, Keulen-Deelstra skated 2

world records A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book '' Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizat ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Bijlsma, Hedman with Tom Dekkers; Alex Dumas; Gé du Maine and Karel Verbeek. ''Schaatsseizoen '72–'73, deel 1: heren''. Leusden, the Netherlands, September 1973. * Bijlsma, Hedman with Tom Dekkers; Alex Dumas; Gé du Maine and Karel Verbeek. ''Schaatsseizoen '72–'73, deel 2: dames''. Leusden, the Netherlands, November 1973. * Bijlsma, Hedman with Tom Dekkers; Alex Dumas; Gé du Maine; Hans Niezen and Karel Verbeek. ''Schaatsseizoen '73–'74: Statistische terugblik''. Leusden, the Netherlands, November 1974. * Bijlsma, Hedman with Tom Dekkers; Arie van Erk; Gé du Maine; Hans Niezen; Nol Terwindt and Karel Verbeek. ''Schaatsseizoen '96–'97: 25e Jaargang 1996–1997, statistische terugblik''. Assen, the Netherlands: Stichting Schaatsseizoen, 1997. ISSN 0922-9582. * Eng, Trond. ''All Time International Championships, Complete Results: 1889 – 2002''. Askim, Norway: WSSSA-Skøytenytt, 2002. * Fan der Fear, Ypk. ''Us Atsje'' (West Frisian). Buitenpost, Friesland, Netherlands: Uitgeverij Alternatyf, 1974. * Koomen, Theo. ''10 Jaar Topschaatsen''. Laren(NH), Netherlands: Uitgeverij Luitingh, 1971. . * Koomen, Theo. ''Topschaatsen 1972''. Laren(NH), Netherlands: Uitgeverij Luitingh, 1972. . * Koomen, Theo. ''Topschaatsen 3''. Laren(NH), Netherlands: Uitgeverij Luitingh, 1973. . * Kleine, Jan. ''Schaatsjaarboek 1968/69, alles over het hardrijden op de lange baan''. Amsterdam, Netherlands, Drukkerij Dico, 1968. * Kleine, Jan. ''Schaatsjaarboek 1969–'70, alles over het hardrijden op de lange baan''. Ede, Netherlands, 1969. * Kleine, Jan. ''Schaatsjaarboek 1970–'71, alles over het hardrijden op de lange baan''. Nijmegen, Netherlands, Schaatsjaarboek, 1970. * Kleine, Jan. ''Schaatsjaarboek 1971–'72, alles over het hardrijden op de lange baan''. Nijmegen, Netherlands, Schaatsjaarboek, 1971. * Kleine, Jan. ''Schaatsjaarboek 1972–'73, alles over het hardrijden op de lange baan''. Nijmegen, Netherlands, Schaatsjaarboek, 1972. * Maaskant, Piet. ''Atje Keulen-Deelstra vertelt exclusief haar story''. Zwolle, Netherlands: La Rivière & Voorhoeve, 1970. * Maaskant, Piet. ''Heya, Heya! Het nieuwe boek van de Schaatssport''. Zwolle, Netherlands: La Rivière & Voorhoeve, 1970. * Peereboom, Klaas. ''Van Jaap Eden tot Ard Schenk''. Baarn, Netherlands: De Boekerij, 1972. . * Teigen, Magne. ''Komplette Resultater Internasjonale Mesterskap 1889 – 1989: Menn/Kvinner, Senior/Junior, allround/sprint''. Veggli, Norway: WSSSA-Skøytenytt, 1989. (Noors) * Van Eyle, Wim. ''Een Eeuw Nederlandse Schaatssport''. Utrecht, Netherlands: Uitgeverij Het Spectrum, 1982. . * Witkamp, Anton and Koning, Dolf (red.). ''Schaatsgoud '72''. Bussum, Netherlands: Teleboek NV, 1972. .

External links

Atje Keulen-Deelstra at SpeedSkatingStats.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keulen-Deelstra, Atje 1938 births 2013 deaths Dutch female speed skaters Speed skaters at the 1972 Winter Olympics Olympic speed skaters of the Netherlands Olympic medalists in speed skating Olympic silver medalists for the Netherlands Olympic bronze medalists for the Netherlands World record setters in speed skating Sportspeople from Friesland People from Boarnsterhim Medalists at the 1972 Winter Olympics World Allround Speed Skating Championships medalists 21st-century Dutch women 20th-century Dutch women