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.
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]
^ abcdeEvans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. . Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
^"Gerard van Velde". SpeedskatingResults.com. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
^"Gerard van Velde". SpeedSkatingStats.com. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
^"Skater Profile | Gerard van Velde | Men | Netherlands".
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In this Dutch name the surname is Van Velde 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 Gerard van VeldePersonal informationBorn 1971 11 30 30 November 1971 age 52 1 Wapenveld Netherlands 1 Height1 92 m 6 ft 4 in 1 Weight87 kg 192 lb 1 SportCountryNetherlandsSportSpeed skatingTurned pro1990Retired2008Medal 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 Contents 1 Biography 2 Records 2 1 Personal records 2 2 World records 3 Tournament overview 4 Medals won 5 References 6 External linksBiography editVan 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 editPersonal 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 nbsp Salt Lake City World record until 20 November 2005 Source SpeedSkatingStats com 3 Tournament overview editSeason 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 nbsp 1000m 8th overall 1990 91 THE HAGUE nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m 10 th1500m INZELL 20th 500m 10th 1000m 16th 500m 17th 1000m 15th overall 1991 92 HEERENVEEN nbsp 500m 4th 1000m HEERENVEEN nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m nbsp overall ALBERTVILLE 5th 500m 4th 1000m OSLO 9th 500m 16th 1000m 6th 500m nbsp 1000m 6th overall 1992 93 DEVENTER nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m UTRECHT nbsp 500m 5th 1000m nbsp 500m 4th 1000m nbsp overall IKAHO 18th 500m 9th 1000m 15th 500m 8th 1000m 11th overall 1993 94 HEERENVEEN nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m 12th 1500m THE HAGUE nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m 13th 500m nbsp 1000m 13th overall LILLEHAMMAR 21st 500m 9th 1000m CALGARY 15h 500m 5th 1000m 17th 500m 33rd 1000m 30th overall 1994 95 THE HAGUE nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m ALKMAAR nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m nbsp overall MILWAUKEE 17th 500m 4th 1000m 11th 500m 5th 1000m 10th overall 1995 96 GRONINGEN nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m ASSEN nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m nbsp overall HAMAR 10th 500m 4th 1000m HEERENVEEN 36th 500m 4th 1000m 25th 500m 10th 1000m 33rd overall 13th 500m nbsp 1000m 1996 97 GRONINGEN nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m nbsp 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 nbsp 500m 5th 1000m UTRECHT nbsp 500m 4th 1000m 4th 500m 4th 1000m nbsp 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 nbsp 500m 5th 1000m nbsp 500m 4th 1000m nbsp 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 nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m 7th 1500m GRONINGEN nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m nbsp 500m 4th 1000m nbsp overall SALT LAKE CITY 4th 500m nbsp 1000m HAMAR 7th 500m nbsp 1000m 5th 500m 5th 1000m 4th overall 5th 500m 9th 1000m 2002 03 UTRECHT nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m 8th 1500m GRONINGEN nbsp 500m 4th 1000m nbsp 500m DNF 1000m NC overall BERLIN 4th 500m nbsp 1000m CALGARY nbsp 500m 4th 1000m nbsp 500m 4th 1000m nbsp overall 4th 500m nbsp 1000m 2003 04 HEERENVEEN nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m UTRECHT nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m nbsp overall SEOUL 8th 500m NF 1000m NAGANO 7th 500m 6th 1000m nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m 4th overall 27th 100m 7th 500m nbsp 1000m 2004 05 ASSEN nbsp 500m 6th 1000m 14th 1500m GRONINGEN nbsp 500m 4th 1000m nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m nbsp overall INZELL 10th 500m SALT LAKE CITY nbsp 500m DNS 1000m DNS 500m DNS 1000m NC overall 11th 500m nbsp 1000m 2005 06 HEERENVEEN 5th 500m 6th 1000m ASSEN nbsp 500m nbsp 1000m nbsp 500m 5th 1000m nbsp 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 nbsp 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 classificationMedals won editChampionship Gold nbsp Silver nbsp Bronze nbsp 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 0References edit 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 Gerard van Velde SpeedskatingResults com Retrieved 29 August 2012 Gerard van Velde SpeedSkatingStats com Retrieved 29 August 2012 Skater Profile Gerard van Velde Men Netherlands External links editGerard 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 comGerard 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 nbsp Gianni Romme Ard Schenk Award2001 Succeeded by nbsp Jochem Uytdehaage nbsp Andrea Nuyt Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gerard van Velde amp oldid 1212553633, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
