Daniëlle Bekkering
Encyclopedia
Daniëlle Bekkering is a Dutch
marathon speed skater
, short track speed skater
and cyclist
who currently lives in Den Ham(Groningen). Bekkering has several nicknames like Beeks, Daantje and Dikkie Dik. Her sister, Eyelien is also a cyclist.
Bekkering started her speed skating career, aged 9 in 1986. She became Dutch junior short track champion in 1993 and 1994. In 1995 she became 6th at the Dutch senior shorttrack championships and fourth in 1996, which earned her a place in the Dutch team for the World Championships.
In 1997 still as a short track speed skater she participated in the Noorder Rondritten, a natural ice speed skating race over 160 kilometres. She finished in third position in the ladies race and said to be totally exhausted after the race. She turned out to be a talented marathon speed skater and switched to that sport to leave the short track behind her and won her first race in 2000. In that same year she also finished in first position at the Dutch allround championships for students. 2001 was her definite breakthrough year as she finished second in the Essent Cup rankings, third on both the Dutch championships in artificial and nature tracks and first in the Three Days of the Greenery
, the AGM Marathon in Mora, Sweden
and the Alternative Elfstedentocht
in Kuopio
, Finland
. In 2002 she won both the Essent Cup and the sprint championship of the same cup as well as the Dutch championships on nature ice and two criteriums at the Weissensee
in Austria
. She finished fourth at the artificial track championships and second in the Greenery.
She was second in the 2003 Essent Cup, but won the sprint competition and successfully defended her nature ice national title. She also won her second Three Days of the Greenery title and finished 5th at the Dutch artificial championships. In 2004 she became Dutch nature ice champion again as well as Essent Cup and sprinters competition winner. She finished third at the artificial championships this time, but managed to win 21 matches in total that year, including The Open Canadian Championships and the Alternative Elfstedentocht in Sylvan Lake
, Canada
.
She retained all three of her titles (Essent Cup, sprint competition and nature ice title) in 2005 and finished in second position at the artificial track championships. In the Four Days of the Greenery she finished in second position.
In 2006 she's dominating the Essent Cup 2006-07
, winning five out of ten races so far. She also won the 2006 Five Days of the Greenery
where she won four out of five races. She has been wearing the brussels sprout suit for a record of 12 days so far.
As a cyclist she specialises in time trials and finished in 10th position at the Dutch time trial championships in 2001. A year later she reached the fourth spot and in 2005 she became fourth at the Dutch road race championships. In between she won an international road race in Pullheim.
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...
marathon 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...
, short track speed skater
Short track speed skating
Short track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters skate on an oval ice track with a circumference of 111.12 m...
and cyclist
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
who currently lives in Den Ham(Groningen). Bekkering has several nicknames like Beeks, Daantje and Dikkie Dik. Her sister, Eyelien is also a cyclist.
Bekkering started her speed skating career, aged 9 in 1986. She became Dutch junior short track champion in 1993 and 1994. In 1995 she became 6th at the Dutch senior shorttrack championships and fourth in 1996, which earned her a place in the Dutch team for the World Championships.
In 1997 still as a short track speed skater she participated in the Noorder Rondritten, a natural ice speed skating race over 160 kilometres. She finished in third position in the ladies race and said to be totally exhausted after the race. She turned out to be a talented marathon speed skater and switched to that sport to leave the short track behind her and won her first race in 2000. In that same year she also finished in first position at the Dutch allround championships for students. 2001 was her definite breakthrough year as she finished second in the Essent Cup rankings, third on both the Dutch championships in artificial and nature tracks and first in the Three Days of the Greenery
Six Days of the Greenery
The Six Days of the Greenery is a marathon speed skating event that that is held on a yearly basis in the Netherlands. The event consists of six races in a six day time span. The distance covered in every race is 100 laps on a 400m track...
, the AGM Marathon in Mora, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and the Alternative 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 Kuopio
Kuopio
Kuopio is a city and a municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia, Finland. A population of makes it the ninth biggest city in the country. The city has a total area of , of which is water and half forest...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. In 2002 she won both the Essent Cup and the sprint championship of the same cup as well as the Dutch championships on nature ice and two criteriums at the Weissensee
Weissensee, Austria
Weissensee is a resort town within the Southern Limestone Alps on the shore of the Lake Weissensee in Carinthia, in south central Austria.- History :In the centre of the town is a bridge crossing over the lake, first mentioned in a deed dated 1348....
in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. She finished fourth at the artificial track championships and second in the Greenery.
She was second in the 2003 Essent Cup, but won the sprint competition and successfully defended her nature ice national title. She also won her second Three Days of the Greenery title and finished 5th at the Dutch artificial championships. In 2004 she became Dutch nature ice champion again as well as Essent Cup and sprinters competition winner. She finished third at the artificial championships this time, but managed to win 21 matches in total that year, including The Open Canadian Championships and the Alternative Elfstedentocht in Sylvan Lake
Sylvan Lake
Sylvan Lake can refer to:Communities* Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada* Sylvan Lake, Michigan, United States* Sylvan Lake, New York, United StatesLakes* Sylvan Lake , Canada* Sylvan Lake , United States...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
She retained all three of her titles (Essent Cup, sprint competition and nature ice title) in 2005 and finished in second position at the artificial track championships. In the Four Days of the Greenery she finished in second position.
In 2006 she's dominating the Essent Cup 2006-07
Essent Cup 2006-07
The 2006-07 Essent Cup of marathon speed skating will be held in the Netherlands, between October 7 and March 3, 2007.-Men's results:-Rankings:Rankings as of 30 December 2006-Women's results:-Rankings:Rankings as of 30 December 2006...
, winning five out of ten races so far. She also won the 2006 Five Days of the Greenery
2006 Six Days of the Greenery
The 2006 Six Days of the Greenery of marathon speed skating was held in the Netherlands, between December 11 and December 16, 2006. The tournament hosted six races of 100 laps in six days in the chase for the brussels sprout suit....
where she won four out of five races. She has been wearing the brussels sprout suit for a record of 12 days so far.
As a cyclist she specialises in time trials and finished in 10th position at the Dutch time trial championships in 2001. A year later she reached the fourth spot and in 2005 she became fourth at the Dutch road race championships. In between she won an international road race in Pullheim.