Renske Vellinga was an ice speed skater

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...

 from 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...

, who won a bronze and a silver medal at the 1993 Dutch distance championships. A year later she died due to an automobile crash, which shocked the Dutch Olympians who were in Hamar, Norway at that moment for the 1994 Winter Olympics

1994 Winter Olympics

The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event. Lillehammer was awarded the games in 1988, after having beat...

.

Her friend Marianne Timmer

Marianne Timmer

Maria Aaltje Timmer is a Dutch speed skater specializing in the middle distances . At the 1998 Winter Olympics Timmer won a gold medal in both these events.- Personal life :...

 twice won an Olympic Gold medal on the anniversary of Vellinga's death, at the 1998

1998 Winter Olympics

The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...

 and 2006 Winter Olympics

2006 Winter Olympics

The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...

. Vellinga was Ids Postma

Ids Postma

Ids Hylke Postma is a Dutch former speed skater. He is an Olympic gold medalist and former world champion.To some it would seem that Ids Postma made his debut in 1994, but the season before he already finished 2nd at the World Championships Speedskating for Juniors...

's girlfriend at the time of her death.