Niels Kerstholt
Encyclopedia
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...
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...
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Kerstholt qualified himself 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...
by finishing among the first twelve in a virtual ranking over 1000 metres using the results of 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...
meetings in Bormio
Bormio
Bormio is a town and comune located in the province of Sondrio, Lombardy region of the Alps in northern Italy. It has a population of 4,200...
and Den Haag in November 2005. This way he met the requirements set by the Dutch Olympic Committee and was his ticket to 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...
reserved. As the Dutch also had a starting entry left at the 1500 metres which was not taken by any other skater Kerstholt also participated at this distance during the Olympics.
At the distance where he qualified himself, the 1000 metres, he was eliminated in the series. However, at the 1500 metres he reached the semi finals and started in the B-final as a result. Here he became fifth out of six skaters, which meant he finished in 11th position in the end. A few weeks after the Olympics Kerstholt became Dutch National Champion for the first time in his career. A year later he would successfully defend his title. He also broke the Dutch National Record over 1500 metres held by Robbert Kees Boer
Robbert Kees Boer
Robbert-Kees Boer, born October 18, 1981 in Woubrugge, The Netherlands, is a record-holding speed skater. He is the nephew of Margot Boer.-Career:*National Short-Track team member...
with more than two seconds from 2:16.881 to a new best time of 2:14.885.