Henricus Coenradus Nicolaas "Hein" Vergeer (born 2 May 1961) is a Dutch former

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

who became both European and World Allround Champion in both 1985 (in which year he also became National

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Champion) and 1986 (in which year he also became National Allround Champion). __NOTOC__ Hein Vergeer was a dominant allround skater, but after recovering from an injury, he was never able to reach that same level again. Because of this, he was unable to fulfil his wish of winning an Olympic medal – at the

1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Calgary 1988 were a multi-sport event held from February 13 to 28, 1988, with Calgary, Calgary, Alberta as the main host city. This marks the m ...

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

, Vergeer competed in the 500 m, the 1,000 m, and the 1,500 m, but his best result was a mere fifteenth place. He had also competed in those same three distances at the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, 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 held i ...

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

four years earlier, but did not do much better than with a tenth place as his best result. His best years were in between those two Winter Olympics. Despite his dominance, Vergeer never managed to skate any world records. This could label him as a "true" all-round skater – very good at all distances, but never the best in any single distance. Vergeer lived during his skating years in Haastrecht, a town where

Leo Visser Leendert "Leo" Visser (born 13 January 1966) is a Dutch former speed skater, who in 1989 won the World Allround championships and European championships. At the 1988 Olympics in Calgary he won a silver medal in the 5000 m and a bronze medal in ...

, another former World Champion speed skating, also used to live. Both skaters used to train at the skating club ''STV Lekstreek''. Back in the days of Vergeer's dominance, speed skating was not very lucrative, so Vergeer did what many other top skaters in those days did – he used his fame as a stepping stone to a career in marketing and communication. Vergeer currently is an advisor of several ventures and he organises events. In 2006 and 2007, Vergeer participated in the Holiday on Ice show called ''Fantasy''.

Personal records

To put these personal records in perspective, the last column (''Notes'') lists the official world records on the dates that Vergeer skated his personal records. Source: Note that Vergeer's personal record on the 3000 meter was not a world record because

skated 3:59.27 that same day at the same tournament. Also note that when Vergeer set his personal record on the 10000 meter

Geir Karlstad Geir Karlstad (born 7 July 1963) is a Norwegian former speed skater and national team speed skating coach. Biography Although best at the longest distances (the 5,000 m and the 10,000 m), Geir Karlstad became Junior World Allround Champ ...

set a new world record of 14:12.14 that same day at the same tournament. Vergeer has an Adelskalender score of 161.193 points. His highest ranking on the Adelskalender was a seventh place. The Adelskalender is an all-time allround speed skating ranking.

Tournament overview

Source:

Medals won

Medals

An overview of medals won by Vergeer at important championships he participated in, listing the years in which he won each:

References

External links

Hein Vergeer at SkateResults.com

Personal records from Jakub Majerski's Speedskating DatabaseComplete history list of World Records
From the

International Skating Union The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international sport governing body, governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vergeer, Hein 1961 births Living people Dutch male speed skaters Olympic speed skaters for the Netherlands Speed skaters at the 1984 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 1988 Winter Olympics People from Vlist World Allround Speed Skating Championships medalists Speed skaters from South Holland 20th-century Dutch sportsmen