Barbara de Loor
Encyclopedia
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
) is a retired Dutch
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...
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...
who was specialised in the middle long and longer distances, over 1000 to 5000 metres.
De Loor will be known in history as a talented skater who often ended up just after the awarded medal positions, which already started in her junior years when she became 6th and 4th at the World Junior Championships in 1992 and 1993 respectively. A few years later after she made the step to the seniors she qualified for the All-around World Championships and finished there in 9th position. That same year she reached two top-10 rankings at the World Single Distance Championships, while participating in three distances (8th over 3000 and 5000 metres, as well as 11th over 1500 metres). This was however also the year that she achieved her first international medal, by becoming third at the European All-around Championships, claiming the bronze.
In 1998 she finished sixth at the same European All-around Championship, she also qualified for her first Olympics, the 1998 Winter Olympics
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...
in Nagano, where she participated at the 1500 and 5000 metres. Her 22nd place at the 1500 metres was no success, however she surprised the world with her fourth position at the 5000 metres, finishing just outside the medals. The trend was set and in 1999 she became fourth over 3000 metres and fifth over 5000 metres at the World Single Distance Championships. She also finished fifth at the European All-around Championships and sixth at the World All-around Championships. In 2000 she would not come close to any of these efforts, but she returned at the highest level in 2001, reaching a fourth position at the European, and a fifth at the World All-around Championships. However the season was still disappointed as she failed to qualify for the 2002 Winter Olympics
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
in Salt Lake City.
De Loor qualified herself for the 2003 World Single Distance Championships on two distances. She became 8th over 5000 metres and 4th over 1500 metres, missing just out on a medal yet again. A year later at the same distance and the same championship she again became 4th, while she was 5th at the European All-around Championships. In 2005 she would become 4th at the 1500 during the World Single Distance Championships for the third consecutive time. It was however the year of her biggest achievement in her career as she became the World Champion over 1000 metres in the same event, finishing in front of Anni Friesinger
Anni Friesinger
Anna Christine Friesinger-Postma is a German speed skater. Her father Georg Friesinger, of Germany, and mother Janina Korowicka, of Poland, were both skaters; Jana was on the Polish team at the 1976 Winter Olympics. Anni's brother Jan is a speed skater, too...
and 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 :...
to claim the gold.
In December 2005 she missed out on direct qualifying for the 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...
, finishing behind some other contenders at the 1500 and 1000 metres. For the last distance she was however nominated by the Dutch Speed Skating Association due to her world title that year. She was awarded a skate-off with Paulien van Deutekom
Paulien van Deutekom
Paulien van Deutekom is a Dutch speed skater who is specialised in the middle long distances, over 1000 and 1500 metres....
who finished 4th at the Dutch Single Distance Championship, where the qualifications were held. De Loor won the confrontation and was qualified for her second Olympics. In Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
at the Olympics she came close to a medal yet again, but this time she became 6th. After the Olympics she appeared at the Speed Skating World Cup
Speed Skating World Cup
The Speed Skating World Cup is a series of international speed skating competitions, organised yearly by the International Skating Union since the winter of 1985–86. Every year during the winter, a number of competitions on a number of different distances are held...
meeting in Heerenveen
Heerenveen
Heerenveen is a town in the Heerenveen municipality of the province of Friesland , in the north of the Netherlands.- History :The town was established in 1551 by three lords as a location for the purpose of digging peat which was used for fuel, hence the name...
where she became fifth over 1500 metres. It was the last race of her career.
In 2006 De Loor participated alongside professional dancer Marcus van Teijlingen
Marcus van Teijlingen
Marcus van Teijlingen is a Dutch dance instructor and professional Latin-American dancer. His regular dance partner was Nathalie Kip...
in the Dutch version of Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars is the name of several international television series based on the format of the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing, which is distributed by BBC Worldwide – the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the format has been licensed to over 35 countries...
and won the competition. After that she appeared on several other television programs such as De Afvallers and De Afvallers met Sterren, as well as with a program named Nederlanders in Ontwikkeling.
Personal records
- 500 metres, 39.79, January 15, 2005 in CalgaryCalgaryCalgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
- 1000 metres, 1:16.03, March 10, 2001 in Salt Lake City
- 1500 metres, 1:55.83, March 11, 2001 in Salt Lake City
- 3000 metres, 4:04.56, March 9, 2001 in Salt Lake City
- 5000 metres, 7:07.49, January 10, 1999 in HeerenveenHeerenveenHeerenveen is a town in the Heerenveen municipality of the province of Friesland , in the north of the Netherlands.- History :The town was established in 1551 by three lords as a location for the purpose of digging peat which was used for fuel, hence the name...