Rutgerus (Rudie) Liebrechts (born 6 September 1941) is a former

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

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 ...

and

racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling spo ...

. Liebrechts was born in

Vlaardingen Vlaardingen () is a large town and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas river at the confluence with the Oude Maas. The municipality admin ...

and was among the best Dutch speed skaters from 1961 to 1967. He twice became Dutch Allround champion, in 1963 and 1964, while he finished second in 1965 (behind

Ard Schenk Adrianus "Ard" Schenk (born 16 September 1944) is a former speed skater from the Netherlands, who is considered to be one of the best in history. His first Olympic success came in 1968, when he won a silver medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics. Bet ...

), and third in 1966 (behind Kees Verkerk and Ard Schenk). He had his biggest international successes at the

World Allround Speed Skating Championships The World Allround Speed Skating Championships are a series of speed skating events held annually to determine the best allround speed skater of the world. The event is held over two days, with all skaters entering the first three distances (500 m, ...

, where he twice won a bronze medal overall. In 1961 in

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he finished behind his compatriot Henk van der Grift and the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n Viktor Kosichkin, while in 1964 in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

he followed the Norwegian

Knut Johannesen Knut ("Kupper'n") Johannesen (born 6 November 1933) is a former speed skater from Norway. Biography Born in Oslo and representing the skating club ASK (''Arbeidernes Skøyteklubb'' – later called ''Aktiv Skøyteklubb'') Johannesen won the Wo ...

and Viktor Kosichkin, again. At the

1964 Winter Olympics The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964 (), were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964. The city was a ...

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he missed out on medals, finishing 10th in the 1500m, 8th in the 5000m, and a close 4th on the 10,000m. In 1965 at the

Bislett stadion Bislett Stadium () is a sports stadium in Oslo, Norway. Bislett is Norway's most well known sports arena internationally, with 15 speed skating world records and more than 50 track and field world records having been set here. The original stadi ...

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

he broke the world record on the 3000m. Rudie Liebrechts also was a reasonably successful cyclist at the national level; in 1965 he won the tour of Gouda.

World records

Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com

References

Rudie Liebrechts at SpeedSkatingStats.com
Biography in Dutch.
Rudie Liebrechts at SchaatsStatistieken.nl
(Dutch) 1941 births Living people Dutch male speed skaters Olympic speed skaters for the Netherlands Dutch male cyclists Sportspeople from Vlaardingen Speed skaters from South Holland Speed skaters at the 1964 Winter Olympics World record setters in speed skating World Allround Speed Skating Championships medalists Cyclists from South Holland 21st-century Dutch people 20th-century Dutch sportsmen {{Netherlands-speed-skating-bio-stub