Gerard van Velde

Dutch speed skater

In this Dutch name, the surname is  Van Velde.

Gerard van Velde

Personal information
Born|  (1971-11-30) 30 November 1971 (age 52)[1]
Wapenveld, Netherlands[1]
Height| 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Weight| 87 kg (192 lb)[1]
Sport
Country| Netherlands
Sport| Speed skating
Turned pro| 1990
Retired| 2008

Medal record

Men's speed skating
Representing the  Netherlands
Olympic Games
| 2002 Salt Lake City | 1000 m
World Sprint Championships
| 2003 Calgary | Sprint
World Single Distance Championships
| 2003 Berlin | 1000 m

Gerard Pieter Hendrik van Velde (born 30 November 1971) is a Dutch retired speed skater who specialised in sprinting. He won an Olympic gold medal in 2002.

## Biography

[edit]

Van Velde was considered the best Dutch sprinter during the early 1990s, but did not manage to win a medal in either the 1992 or 1994 Winter Olympics. Particularly frustrating were the 1992 Games, where he missed a bronze medal by one-hundredth of a second.

During the late 1990s, clap skates became standard in Olympic competition. Van Velde had such difficulty adjusting to the techniques required with these new skates that he retired from skating and became a car salesman. However, he was not finished with the skating world.

Rintje Ritsma, another Dutch skater invited Van Velde to be his training partner, and, during training, he mastered the clap skate techniques. He decided to try out for the 2002 Winter Olympics, in spite of the arrival of a new generation of Dutch sprinters such as Jan Bos, Erben Wennemars and Jakko Jan Leeuwangh. Van Velde became the fourth sprinter to qualify for the games.

In Salt Lake City, he started before all the other favorites and raced to a world record finish. His time of 1:07.18 shaved more than half a second from the previous best world time, and more than a second from his personal best. The skaters who followed were unable to best him, and he won the gold medal.

In December 2005, at the Dutch Olympic trials in Heerenveen, van Velde failed to qualify for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. In retirement he became a coach.[1]

## Records

[edit]

### Personal records

[edit]

Personal records

Men's speed skating
Event  | Result  | Date  | Location  | Notes
500 m  |  34.59 |  6 February 2003  |  Calgary |
1000 m  |  1:07.18 |  16 February 2002  |  Salt Lake City | Olympic record
1500 m  |  1:48.53 |  26 September 2004  |  Calgary |
3000 m  |  4:02.18 |  30 November 2004  |  Calgary |

Source: SpeedskatingResults.com[2]

### World records

[edit]

Event | Result | Date | Location | Notes

|
|
|
|

1000 m | 1:07.18 | 16 February 2002 |  Salt Lake City | World record until 20 November 2005

Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com[3]

## Tournament overview

[edit]

Season  | Dutch
Championships
Single
Distances | Dutch
Championships
Sprint | Olympic
Games | World
Championships
Single
Distances | World
Championships
Sprint | World
Cup
GWC

|
|
|
|
|
|

1989–90 |

HEERENVEEN

* * *

16th 500m
17e 1000m |

ASSEN

* * *

10th 500m
10th 1000m
6th 500m
1000m

* * *

8th overall |  |  |  |

1990–91 |

THE HAGUE

* * *

500m
1000m
10 th1500m |  |  |  |

INZELL

* * *

20th 500m
10th 1000m
16th 500m
17th 1000m

* * *

15th overall |

1991–92 |

HEERENVEEN

* * *

500m
4th 1000m |

HEERENVEEN

* * *

500m
1000m
500m
1000m

* * *

overall |

ALBERTVILLE

* * *

5th 500m
4th 1000m |  |

OSLO

* * *

9th 500m
16th 1000m
6th 500m
1000m

* * *

6th overall |

1992–93 |

DEVENTER

* * *

500m
1000m |

UTRECHT

* * *

500m
5th 1000m
500m
4th 1000m

* * *

overall |  |  |

IKAHO

* * *

18th 500m
9th 1000m
15th 500m
8th 1000m

* * *

11th overall |

1993–94 |

HEERENVEEN

* * *

500m
1000m
12th 1500m |

THE HAGUE

* * *

500m
1000m
13th 500m
1000m

* * *

13th overall |

LILLEHAMMAR

* * *

21st 500m
9th 1000m |  |

CALGARY

* * *

15h 500m
5th 1000m
17th 500m
33rd 1000m

* * *

30th overall |

1994–95 |

THE HAGUE

* * *

500m
1000m |

ALKMAAR

* * *

500m
1000m
500m
1000m

* * *

overall |  |  |

MILWAUKEE

* * *

17th 500m
4th 1000m
11th 500m
5th 1000m

* * *

10th overall |

1995–96 |

GRONINGEN

* * *

500m
1000m |

ASSEN

* * *

500m
1000m
500m
1000m

* * *

overall |  |

HAMAR

* * *

10th 500m
4th 1000m |

HEERENVEEN

* * *

36th 500m
4th 1000m
25th 500m
10th 1000m

* * *

33rd overall |
13th 500m
1000m

1996–97 |  |

GRONINGEN

* * *

500m
1000m
500m
1000m

* * *

overall |  |

WARSAW

* * *

18th 500m
6th 1000m |

HAMAR

* * *

12th 500m
10th 1000m
13th 500m
8th 1000m

* * *

11th overall |
15th 500m
6th 1000m

1997–98 |

HEERENVEEN

* * *

4th 500m
7th 1000m |

GRONINGEN

* * *

7th 500m
7th 1000m
7th 500m
10th 1000m

* * *

6th overall |  |

CALGARY

* * *

NS2 500m |  |
44th 500m
23rd 1000m
1998–99 |  |  |  |  |  |

1999–2000 |

DEVENTER

* * *

500m
5th 1000m |

UTRECHT

* * *

500m
4th 1000m
4th 500m
4th 1000m

* * *

overall |  |

NAGANO

* * *

19th 500m |

SEOUL

* * *

22nd 500m
19th 1000m
20th 500m
23rd 1000m

* * *

21st overall |
32nd 500m
37th 1000m

2000–01 |

THE HAGUE

* * *

7th 500m
12th 1000m
19th 1500m |

HEERENVEEN

* * *

500m
5th 1000m
500m
4th 1000m

* * *

overall |  |

SALT LAKE CITY

* * *

11th 500m
5th 500m |

INZELL

* * *

11th 500m
4th 1000m
9th 500m
5th 1000m

* * *

7th overall |
19th 500m
14th 1000m

2001–02 |

HEERENVEEN

* * *

500m
1000m
7th 1500m |

GRONINGEN

* * *

500m
1000m
500m
4th 1000m

* * *

overall |

SALT LAKE CITY

* * *

4th 500m
1000m |  |

HAMAR

* * *

7th 500m
1000m
5th 500m
5th 1000m

* * *

4th overall |
5th 500m
9th 1000m

2002–03 |

UTRECHT

* * *

500m
1000m
8th 1500m |

GRONINGEN

* * *

500m
4th 1000m
500m
DNF 1000m

* * *

NC overall |  |

BERLIN

* * *

4th 500m
1000m |

CALGARY

* * *

500m
4th 1000m
500m
4th 1000m

* * *

overall |
4th 500m
1000m

2003–04 |

HEERENVEEN

* * *

500m
1000m |

UTRECHT

* * *

500m
1000m
500m
1000m

* * *

overall |  |

SEOUL

* * *

8th 500m
NF 1000m |

NAGANO

* * *

7th 500m
6th 1000m
500m
1000m

* * *

4th overall |
27th 100m
7th 500m
1000m

2004–05 |

ASSEN

* * *

500m
6th 1000m
14th 1500m |

GRONINGEN

* * *

500m
4th 1000m
500m
1000m

* * *

overall |  |

INZELL

* * *

10th 500m |

SALT LAKE CITY

* * *

500m
DNS 1000m
DNS 500m
DNS 1000m

* * *

NC overall |
11th 500m
1000m

2005–06 |

HEERENVEEN

* * *

5th 500m
6th 1000m |

ASSEN

* * *

500m
1000m
500m
5th 1000m

* * *

overall |  |  |

HEERENVEEN

* * *

9th 500m
10th 1000m
9th 500m
11th 1000m

* * *

6th overall |
9th 500m
7th 1000m

2006–07 |

ASSEN

* * *

4th 500m
9th 1000m |

GRONINGEN

* * *

4th 500m
6th 1000m
500m
6th 1000m

* * *

4th overall |  |  |

HAMAR

* * *

15h 500m
14th 1000m
DNS 500m
DNS 1000m

* * *

NC overall |
15th 500m

2007–08 |  |

HEERENVEEN

* * *

8th 500m
13th 1000m
12th 500m
11th 1000m

* * *

10th overall |  |  |  |

2008–09 |  |

GRONINGEN

* * *

5th 500m
4th 1000m
6th 500m
4th 1000m

* * *

6th overall |  |  |  |

Source:[4]

DQ = Disqualified
DNF = Did not finish
DNS = Did not start
NC = No classification

## Medals won

[edit]

Championship | Gold
| Silver
| Bronze

|
|
|

Dutch Single Distances | 12 | 5 | 3
Dutch Sprint | 6 | 4 | 1
Olympic Games | 1 | 0 | 0
World Single Distances | 0 | 1 | 0
World Sprint | 0 | 1 | 0

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Gerard van Velde". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
2. ^ "Gerard van Velde". SpeedskatingResults.com. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
3. ^ "Gerard van Velde". SpeedSkatingStats.com. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
4. ^ "Skater Profile | Gerard van Velde | Men | Netherlands".

## External links

[edit]

* Gerard van Velde at the International Skating Union
* PB's Gerard van Velde at SpeedskatingBase.eu with link to results International Championships
* Gerard van Velde at SpeedSkatingStats.com
* Gerard van Velde at Olympics.com
* Gerard van Velde at OlympicChannel.com (archived)
* Gerard van Velde at Olympic.org (archived)
* Gerard van Velde at NOC*NSF (in Dutch) (English translation)
* Photos of Gerard van Velde at the Wayback Machine (archived March 10, 2007)

Awards

Preceded by

Gianni Romme

|  Ard Schenk Award
2001  | Succeeded by

Jochem Uytdehaage
Andrea Nuyt

* v
* t
* e

Olympic champions in men's 1000 m speed skating

* 1976:  Peter Mueller (USA)
* 1980:  Eric Heiden (USA)
* 1984:  Gaétan Boucher (CAN)
* 1988:  Nikolay Gulyayev (URS)
* 1992:  Olaf Zinke (GER)
* 1994:  Dan Jansen (USA)
* 1998:  Ids Postma (NED)
* 2002:  Gerard van Velde (NED)
* 2006:  Shani Davis (USA)
* 2010:  Shani Davis (USA)
* 2014:  Stefan Groothuis (NED)
* 2018:  Kjeld Nuis (NED)
* 2022:  Thomas Krol (NED)

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