Hans van Helden
Encyclopedia
Hans van Helden is a former speed skater
, originally competing for the Netherlands
, later for France
.
Champion twice (1976 and 1977) and he did break two world records. Being the then-current world record holder on the 5,000 m, he "only" finished 3rd on that distance during the 1976 Winter Olympics
in Innsbruck
, possibly because the ice was in much worse condition during his race than it was when his major rivals (Sten Stensen
and Piet Kleine
) ran theirs.
In Dutch skating, Van Helden was known as an enfant terrible. His clashes with fellow Dutch skaters, his being fed up with fighting the KNSB (Koninklijke Nederlandsche Schaatsenrijders Bond – the Royal Dutch Skaters Federation), and (in 1980) his marriage to a French skater (Marie-France Vives), led to his naturalisation to French citizenship in December 1981. As a Frenchman, having very little competition from other French skaters, he had no problems qualifying for skating events. This also resulted in a long career as a speed skater and he participated in international competitions until he was 40.
One of his most memorable feats was finishing 4th on the 1,500 m during the 1984 Winter Olympics
in Sarajevo
, aged 35, and well ahead of his former compatriots, Dutchmen Hilbert van der Duim
, Frits Schalij, and Hein Vergeer
.
Van Helden was number one on the Adelskalender, the all-time allround speed skating ranking, from 13 March 1976 to 25 December 1976 – a total of 287 days. He has an Adelskalender score of 163.047 points.
Speed skating
Speed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating...
, originally competing for the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, later for France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Biography
Despite being a very talented speed skater and having an excellent skating style and technique, Hans van Helden never managed to win any major international tournaments. However, he did become Dutch AllroundKNSB Dutch Allround Championships
The national Dutch Allround speedskating championships are first held in 1901 for man and since 1955 for women-Men's Allround:Source: -Women's Allround:Source: -References:NotesBibliography...
Champion twice (1976 and 1977) and he did break two world records. Being the then-current world record holder on the 5,000 m, he "only" finished 3rd on that distance during the 1976 Winter Olympics
1976 Winter Olympics
The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated February 4–15, 1976 in Innsbruck, Austria...
in Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
, possibly because the ice was in much worse condition during his race than it was when his major rivals (Sten Stensen
Sten Stensen
Sten Einar Stensen is a former speed skater.-Short biography:Together with Amund Sjøbrend, Kay Stenshjemmet, and Jan Egil Storholt, Sten Stensen was one of the legendary four S-es , contemporary Norwegian top skaters in the 1970s and early 1980s...
and Piet Kleine
Piet Kleine
Pieter "Piet" Kleine is a former speed skater from the Netherlands.-Short biography:At the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Piet Kleine became Olympic Champion on the 10,000 m, beating world record holder Sten Stensen – who won silver – in a close race...
) ran theirs.
In Dutch skating, Van Helden was known as an enfant terrible. His clashes with fellow Dutch skaters, his being fed up with fighting the KNSB (Koninklijke Nederlandsche Schaatsenrijders Bond – the Royal Dutch Skaters Federation), and (in 1980) his marriage to a French skater (Marie-France Vives), led to his naturalisation to French citizenship in December 1981. As a Frenchman, having very little competition from other French skaters, he had no problems qualifying for skating events. This also resulted in a long career as a speed skater and he participated in international competitions until he was 40.
One of his most memorable feats was finishing 4th on the 1,500 m during the 1984 Winter Olympics
1984 Winter Olympics
The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated from 8–19 February 1984 in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. Other candidate cities were Sapporo, Japan; and Gothenburg, Sweden...
in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
, aged 35, and well ahead of his former compatriots, Dutchmen Hilbert van der Duim
Hilbert van der Duim
Hilbert van der Duim is a former speed skater. A two-time world and European champion, Van der Duim "won often but also fell often", and has become famous for some of the incidents that happened to him during his career.-Career:Hilbert van der Duim became World Allround Champion in 1980, being the...
, Frits Schalij, and Hein Vergeer
Hein Vergeer
Henricus Coenradus Nicolaas Vergeer is a Dutch former speed skater who became both European and World Allround Champion in both 1985 and 1986 .Hein Vergeer was a dominant allround skater, but after having recovered from...
.
World records
Over the course of his career, Van Helden skated two world records:| Distance | Time | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5,000 m | 7:07.82 | 30 January 1976 | Davos Eisstadion Davos Vaillant Arena is an arena in Davos, Switzerland. It is primarily used for ice hockey and is the home arena of HC Davos. It holds 7,080 people, of which 3,280 are seated... |
| 1,500 m | 1:55.61 | 13 March 1976 | Inzell Eisstadion Inzell Eisstadion Inzell is a stadium located in Inzell, Germany, best known as a speed skating venue. It is an outdoor, artificial ice, rink, located 690 metres above sea level and has a capacity of 20,000 people... |
Personal records
To put these personal records in perspective, the last column (WR) lists the official world records on the dates that Van Helden skated his personal records.| Distance | Time | Date | Location | WR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 m | 39.0 | 5 January 1986 | Davos Eisstadion Davos Vaillant Arena is an arena in Davos, Switzerland. It is primarily used for ice hockey and is the home arena of HC Davos. It holds 7,080 people, of which 3,280 are seated... |
36.57 |
| 1,000 m | 1:16.32 | 18 February 1988 | Calgary Olympic Oval The Olympic Oval in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is a covered speed skating oval built for the 1988 Winter Olympics. It is the official designated training center for Speed Skate Canada and the Canadian National Speed Skating team. It is located on the University of Calgary campus... |
1:12.58 |
| 1,500 m | 1:55.61 | 13 March 1976 | Inzell Eisstadion Inzell Eisstadion Inzell is a stadium located in Inzell, Germany, best known as a speed skating venue. It is an outdoor, artificial ice, rink, located 690 metres above sea level and has a capacity of 20,000 people... |
1:58.7 |
| 3,000 m | 4:08.11 | 8 March 1984 | Inzell Eisstadion Inzell Eisstadion Inzell is a stadium located in Inzell, Germany, best known as a speed skating venue. It is an outdoor, artificial ice, rink, located 690 metres above sea level and has a capacity of 20,000 people... |
4:04.06 |
| 5,000 m | 6:57.69 | 17 February 1988 | Calgary Olympic Oval The Olympic Oval in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is a covered speed skating oval built for the 1988 Winter Olympics. It is the official designated training center for Speed Skate Canada and the Canadian National Speed Skating team. It is located on the University of Calgary campus... |
6:43.59 |
| 10,000 m | 14:34.84 | 21 February 1988 | Calgary Olympic Oval The Olympic Oval in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is a covered speed skating oval built for the 1988 Winter Olympics. It is the official designated training center for Speed Skate Canada and the Canadian National Speed Skating team. It is located on the University of Calgary campus... |
13:48.51 |
| Big combination Samalog Samalog is a scoring system in speed skating. It is used in allround tournaments to convert results at various distances into points in order to determine an overall champion... |
165.385 | 6 March 1988 | Medeo Medeo The Medeu , or Medeo , is an outdoor speed skating and bandy rink. It is located in a mountain valley on the south-eastern outskirts of Almaty, Kazakhstan. Medeu sits 1,691 metres above sea level, making it the highest skating rink in the world... |
159.356 |
Van Helden was number one on the Adelskalender, the all-time allround speed skating ranking, from 13 March 1976 to 25 December 1976 – a total of 287 days. He has an Adelskalender score of 163.047 points.