Bart Veldkamp
Encyclopedia
Bart Veldkamp (born 22 November 1967 in The Hague
, Netherlands
) is a retired speed skater
, who represented both the Netherlands and Belgium
in international competitions, including the Winter Olympics.
and came very close to repeating that feat 11 years later in 2001, finishing 2nd. At the 1992 Winter Olympics
, he won a gold medal on the 10,000 m. Mainly due to this achievement, Veldkamp was named Dutch Sportsman of the Year in 1992. Before the 1994 Winter Olympics
, he was so dissatisfied with the way to qualify for tournaments that he became a Belgian. In Belgium there was (and still is) no speed skating tradition, so qualifying for tournaments became no issue because there were no other speed skaters to compete with.
In Lillehammer
at the 1994 Winter Olympics
, Veldkamp won a bronze medal on the 10,000 m for the Netherlands. The next Olympic medal he won was as a Belgian at the 1998 Winter Olympics
on the 5,000 m, in which he was the first skater ever to break the 6:30 barrier on that distance, but his time was beaten later that same day by former compatriots Rintje Ritsma
and Gianni Romme
. His bronze medal was the first ever Olympic medal in speed skating for Belgium.
In 1997, Veldkamp participated in the Elfstedentocht
. In 2003, he announced that the 2006 Winter Olympics
at Turin
would be his third Winter Olympics as a Belgian, his fifth overall, and definitely his last. At these 2006 Winter Olympics
, Veldkamp finished 13th on the 5,000 m and 14th on the 10,000 m and ended his career afterwards.
After his career Veldkamp became a sports commentator for the NOS
to analyze speed skating races. He also appeared on several other TV shows as Peking Express
and Wildebeesten.
In the 2006/2007 winter season Veldkamp trained four Kenyan athletes, for the first time ever on ice, for a Dutch TV show. The goal was to let them skate the 200 km long alternative Elfstedentocht at the Weissensee in Austria.
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, 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...
) is a retired 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 represented both the Netherlands and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
in international competitions, including the Winter Olympics.
Short biography
In 1990, Bart Veldkamp won the European Allround ChampionshipsEuropean Speed Skating Championships
The European Speed Skating Championships are a series of speed skating events held annually to determine the best allround speed skater of Europe. The International Skating Union has organised the European Championships for Men since 1893 and the European Championships for Women since 1970. The...
and came very close to repeating that feat 11 years later in 2001, finishing 2nd. At the 1992 Winter Olympics
1992 Winter Olympics
The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 8 to 23 February 1992 in Albertville, France. They were the last Winter Olympics to be held the same year as the Summer Olympics, and the first where the Winter Paralympics...
, he won a gold medal on the 10,000 m. Mainly due to this achievement, Veldkamp was named Dutch Sportsman of the Year in 1992. Before 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...
, he was so dissatisfied with the way to qualify for tournaments that he became a Belgian. In Belgium there was (and still is) no speed skating tradition, so qualifying for tournaments became no issue because there were no other speed skaters to compete with.
In Lillehammer
Lillehammer
is a town and municipality in Oppland county, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. As of May 2011, the population of the town of Lillehammer was...
at 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...
, Veldkamp won a bronze medal on the 10,000 m for the Netherlands. The next Olympic medal he won was as a Belgian at the 1998 Winter Olympics
Speed skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics
-500m:February 9/February 10, 1998-1,000m:February 15, 1998-1,500m:February 10, 1998-5,000m:February 8, 1998-10,000m:February 17, 1998-500m:February 13/February 14, 1998-1,000m:February 19, 1998-1,500m:February 16, 1998-3,000m:...
on the 5,000 m, in which he was the first skater ever to break the 6:30 barrier on that distance, but his time was beaten later that same day by former compatriots Rintje Ritsma
Rintje Ritsma
Robert Rintje Ritsma is a former Dutch long track speed skater. His nickname is the Beer van Lemmer, which translates to the Bear from Lemmer.-Speed skating career:He has won the World Allround Championships 4 times...
and Gianni Romme
Gianni Romme
Gianni Petrus Cornelis Romme is a Dutch marathon and a former long track speed skater. He is also a coach since the 2006-07 speed skating season....
. His bronze medal was the first ever Olympic medal in speed skating for Belgium.
In 1997, Veldkamp participated in the Elfstedentocht
Elfstedentocht
The Elfstedentocht is the world's largest and longest speed skating competition and leisure skating tour, and is held irregularly in the province of Friesland, Netherlands.The tour, almost 200 km in length, is conducted on frozen canals, rivers and lakes between the eleven historic...
. In 2003, he announced that 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...
at 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...
would be his third Winter Olympics as a Belgian, his fifth overall, and definitely his last. At these 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...
, Veldkamp finished 13th on the 5,000 m and 14th on the 10,000 m and ended his career afterwards.
After his career Veldkamp became a sports commentator for the NOS
Nederlandse Omroep Stichting
The Nederlandse Omroep Stichting , English: Netherlands Broadcasting Foundation, is one of the broadcasters in the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system...
to analyze speed skating races. He also appeared on several other TV shows as Peking Express
Peking Express
Peking Express is a Dutch/Flemish reality game show that follows a series of couples as they hitchhike to or from Beijing . The series has already gone through five seasons. In The Netherlands it is screened by Net 5 and in Belgium by VT4. A German version was shown in 2004...
and Wildebeesten.
In the 2006/2007 winter season Veldkamp trained four Kenyan athletes, for the first time ever on ice, for a Dutch TV show. The goal was to let them skate the 200 km long alternative Elfstedentocht at the Weissensee in Austria.
Medals
An overview of medals won by Veldkamp at important championships he participated in, listing the years in which he won each:| Championships | Gold medal | Silver medal | Bronze medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympics Speed skating at the Winter Olympics Speed skating has been featured as a sport in the Winter Olympics since the first winter games in 1924. Women's events were added to the Olympic program for the first time in 1960.-History:... |
1992 (10,000 m) | 1994 (10,000 m) 1998 (5,000 m) |
|
| World Allround World Allround Speed Skating Championships The World Allround Speed Skating Championships are a series of speed skating events held annually to determine the best allround speed skater of the world... |
1990 1991 2001 |
||
| World Single Distance World Single Distance Championships The World Single Distance Championships are a series of speed skating competitions organised by the International Skating Union.-History:Since the late 19th century, speed skating championships were always decided by racing multiple distances – four different distances for the allround... |
1999 (5,000 m) | 1998 (5,000 m) | |
| European Allround European Speed Skating Championships The European Speed Skating Championships are a series of speed skating events held annually to determine the best allround speed skater of Europe. The International Skating Union has organised the European Championships for Men since 1893 and the European Championships for Women since 1970. The... |
1990 | 2001 | 1991 |
| Dutch Allround KNSB 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... |
1991 1992 1993 |
1989 1994 1995 |
|
| Dutch Single Distance | 1991 (5,000 m) 1991 (10,000 m) 1992 (5,000 m) 1992 (10,000 m) |
1990 (10,000 m) 1991 (1,500 m) 1993 (10,000 m) |
1988 (5,000 m) 1990 (5,000 m) 1993 (5,000 m) 1994 (5,000 m) |
World records
Over the course of his career, Veldkamp skated two world records:| Distance | Time | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3,000 m | 3:48.91 | 21 March 1998 | 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... |
| 5,000 m | 6:28.31 | 8 February 1998 | Nagano M-Wave is an indoor sporting arena located in Nagano, Japan.Opened in 1996, the arena has a capacity of 10,000. It hosted the speed skating events of the 1998 Winter Olympics. The M-Wave is equipped with movable stands and an automatically winding artificial lawn machine... |
Personal records
By January 11, 2009, Veldkamp was placed 62nd with a score of 152.621 points on the Adelskalender, the rankinglist of all-time personal bests. His highest ranking ever on the Adelskalender was a 5th place.External links and references
- DESG
- Bart Veldkamp at SkateResults.com
- Personal records from The Skatebase
- 2005/2006 season best performances
- Photos of Bart Veldkamp