Falko Zandstra (born 27 December 1971) is a former 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 skatin ...

. Because of his thin legs he was also called ''de Gespierde Spijker'' which translates to ''the Muscular Nail''.

Biography

Zandstra was born 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). ...

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 ...

. He was a natural talent who had his career peak at a very young age. In 1990 and 1991 he became junior world champion. In 1991 he won with a

world record 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 organizati ...

in the small combination. In his international debut year 1992 he became European Champion Allround and finished second in the World Allround Championships, after Roberto Sighel. In that season he also won the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

at the 1500 meters and a silver medal at the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

in the 5000 meters. A year later, in 1993 he became World champion and European champion again. From 1994 on, his career went downwards. At the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer he won the bronze medal in the 1500 meters and finished fourth in the 5000 and 10000 meters. He also won the 1500 meters World Cup again. In 1995 he finished second in the European championships. At the World championships that year, he fell during the 1500 meters when he threw his arm band (which is used to indicate in which lane a skater has started) over his own skate. Because of this he didn't qualify for the 10,000 meters. For 49 days, from 23 January until 13 March 1993, Falko Zandstra was the leader in the Adelskalender. After his career, Zandstra switched to marathon skating with little success and he quit skating in 1999. Today he runs his own company in roof and wall plating called ''Falko Dak & Wand'' in Heerenveen. He is married to former Dutch speed skater Ellen Linnenbank.

World records

In the course of his career, Zandstra skated nine

s, of which six were junior world records: Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com

Personal records

Source
www.isu.org

Tournament overview

: DNQ = Did not qualify for the final event : NC = No classification source:

Medals won

References

External links

Falko Zandstra at SpeedSkatingStats.com

Website of Falko Zandstra's company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zandstra, Falko 1971 births Dutch male speed skaters Living people Speed skaters at the 1992 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics Olympic speed skaters of the Netherlands Sportspeople from Heerenveen Olympic medalists in speed skating Medalists at the 1992 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the Netherlands Olympic bronze medalists for the Netherlands World Allround Speed Skating Championships medalists Dutch speed skating coaches Dutch sports coaches 21st-century Dutch people 20th-century Dutch people