Nils van der Poel

Nils Göran van der Poel (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈnɪls fan dɛ(r) ˈpʰuːl];^[1] born 25 April 1996) is a retired Swedish speed skater who is the current World and Olympic record holder and 2022 Olympic champion in the 5,000 m event and the 10,000 m event.^[2]

Nils van der Poel

Van der Poel in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Nils Göran van der Poel
Nationality	Swedish
Born	(1996-04-25) 25 April 1996 (age 28) Trollhättan, Sweden
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	82 kg (181 lb)
Sport
Country	Sweden
Sport	Speed skating
Event(s)	5 000 m, 10 000 m
Club	SK Trollhättan
Medal record Men's speed skating Representing  Sweden Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 0 0 World Allround 1 0 0 World Single Distance 2 0 0 Total 5 0 0 Olympic Games 2022 Beijing 5000 m 2022 Beijing 10000 m World Allround Championships 2022 Hamar Allround World Single Distances Championships 2021 Heerenveen 5000 m 2021 Heerenveen 10000 m

Career

Van der Poel won the 2014 World Junior Championships in Bjugn, Norway.^[3] He finished 14th in the men's 5000 metres at the 2018 Winter Olympics.^[4] On 2 June 2018, it was announced that he would take a break from speed skating.^[5][6] From 2018 to 2019, van der Poel completed the basic ranger course in the Army Ranger Battalion in Arvidsjaur, Sweden.^[7]

He became World champion at 5000 meters event at the World Championship on 11 February 2021,^[8] the first medal for Sweden in 38 years,^[9] and the first gold in 48 years.^[10] Three days later he also won the 10,000 meters event in a new world record.

At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, van der Poel won the gold medal in both the 5000 metres and the 10000 metres. In the process, he set both a new Olympic record of 6:08.84 in the 5000 metres event and gained Sweden its first speedskating gold medal in 34 years since the Tomas Gustafson gold at the same event at 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary,^[11][2] as well as a new world record and Olympic record for the 10000 metres event.^[12] After the event, he donated one of his medals to Chinese political prisoner Gui Minhai to protest against human rights abuses in China.^[13]

At the World Allround Speedskating Championships 2022 in Hamar, van der Poel rallied to win the biggest title missing from his resume, knocking off Dutchman Patrick Roest (the reigning champion) in van der Poel's penultimate competition before retirement from elite racing. Van der Poel became the first Swede in 49 years to win the world men's allround – one of the most storied events in sports dating to 1893 that combines results from the 500 m, 1500 m, 5000 m, and 10,000 m over two days of racing.

Van der Poel is known for his high training volume, focusing on long, low-intensity aerobic training like cycling.^[14] After his gold medals at the 2022 Olympics, he published his training manifesto and workout journal,^[15] saying that he hoped that it would help others develop the sport.^[16] van der Poel wrote "I held myself to a high standard and I rewarded myself properly and often. When I failed, I forgave myself and tried my best not to fail again."^[15]

On 3 March 2022, he announced his retirement from elite ice speed skating following the 2021–22 season.^[17] His last competition was on 12 March 2022, where he won the 5000 metres event at the Speed Skating World Cup finale, and by that won the total World Cup Men's long distances 2021–22.^[18][19]

On 6 December 2022, he was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal.^[20] The same year Van der Poel won the Jerring Award.^[21]

Personal records

Personal records^[22]
Speed skating
Event	Result	Date	Location	Notes
500-meter	37.33	5 March 2022	Vikingskipet, Hamar
1000 meter	1:13.92	15 November 2014	Vikingskipet, Hamar
1500 meter	1:47.18	5 December 2021	Utah Olympic Oval, Salt Lake City
3000 meter	3:51.12	15 November 2014	Max Aicher Arena, Inzell
5000 meter	6:01.56	3 December 2021	Utah Olympic Oval, Salt Lake City	Current world record.
10000 meter	12:30.74	11 February 2022	Beijing National Speed Skating Oval, Beijing	Current world record.

Van der Poel's personal records for 500, 1500, 5000, and 10000 meters as of February 2022 are equivalent to an Adelskalender score of 147.289.^[23]

Personal life

He is of Hungarian and Dutch descent.^[24][25]

References

1. En städande världsmästare. Städa Sverige. 3 November 2021.
2. "Van der Poel nets Sweden rare speedskating gold". ESPN. 6 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
3. "Svensk JVM-guld på 5000 meter skridsko". Expressen (in Swedish). 9 March 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
4. . Pyeongchang 2018. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
5. Hellmark, Ellen; Lagergren, Bernt (2 June 2018). "Skridskotalangen tar en paus" (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
6. Salihi, Skoob (2 June 2018). "Nils van der Poel tar en paus". Sveriges radio (in Swedish). Retrieved 2 June 2018.
7. van der Poel, Nils (2021). "ATT SKRIVA FÖRLUSTANMÄLAN PÅ SIN SJÄL" (PDF). Försvarets forum: Personaltidning för fast anställda och reservofficerare i svenska försvarsmakten (in Swedish) (1). Stockholm: Försvarets forum: 72. SELIBR 4109339.
8. "World Cup gold for van der Poel". Nord News. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
9. "Nils van der Poel inskriven i historieböckerna". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 11 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
10. "Nils van der Poel världsmästare på 5000 meter". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 11 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
11. Reardon, Logan. "Swedish Speed Skater Nils van der Poel Wins Gold, Sets Olympic Record After Late Push".
12. "van der Poel satte världsrekord och tog guld" (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
13. "Speed skating-Swede van der Poel donates Olympic gold to Chinese prisoner".
14. "Nils van der Poel – dåre eller geni?" (in Swedish). 28 January 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
15. Nils van der Poel. How to skate a 10K, howtoskate.se, 2022.
16. "Nils van der Poels träningsdagbok offentlig" (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
17. "van der Poel avslutar skridskokarriären" (in Swedish). SVT Sport. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
18. "van der Poel avslutar med ännu en seger". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 12 March 2022.
19. "ISU World Cup Long Distances Men". live.isuresults.eu. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
20. Jonathan Kvarnström (6 December 2022). "Två OS-guld gav Nils van der Poel Bragdguldet" (in Swedish). SVT Sport. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
21. Radiosporten (28 January 2020). "Jerringpriset: Pristagare sedan 1979". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Retrieved 1 April 2024.
22. "Nils van der Poel". speedskatingresults.com. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
23. "Speedskatingbase.eu".
24. "Olimpiai bajnok lett a magyar felmenőkkel rendelkező svéd gyorskorcsolyázó – videó" [Swedish speed skater of Hungarian descent becomes Olympic champion – video]. Origo (in Hungarian). 6 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
25. "Nils Van der Poel sets speedskating 10,000 meters world record with winning time of 12:32.95". Heerenveen: ESPN. Associated Press. 14 February 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2022.

External links

• Nils van der Poel at the International Skating Union
• Nils van der Poel at Olympedia  
• Nils van der Poel at the Sveriges Olympiska Kommitté (in Swedish) (English translation)  

Records
Preceded by   Ted-Jan Bloemen	Men's 5,000 m speed skating world record 3 December 2021 – present	Incumbent
Preceded by   Graeme Fish	Men's 10,000 m speed skating world record 14 February 2021 – present	Incumbent