Sanne van der Star
Encyclopedia
Sanne Martha van der Star (Alkemade
, February 21, 1986) is a Dutch
speed skater
who is specialised in the short distances, over 500 and 1000 metres.
In December 2005 Van der Star tried to qualify herself for the 2006 Winter Olympics
in Turin
over 500 metres. As she was not among the nominated skaters for the distance a top-2 ranking was requested by the Dutch Speed Skating Association to qualify. Eventually Van der Star ended up on the third position behind Marianne Timmer
and Annette Gerritsen
. As the Dutch had four possible entries in the Olympics at this distance it was said that Van der Star had to show she was capable of getting high rankings in international races and it was requested that she would finish among the best 16 over 500 metres during the World Sprint Championships in 2006. After the first out of two races she was in 15th position and almost sure of qualification. In the second race however, she showed some nerves and had some instable moments during her race, resulting in a slower time compared to the day before. A few riders that were behind her the first day passed her in the ranking, however a few others fell behind on Van der Star and she ended up at exactly the 16th position in the end, which meant she qualified herself for the Olympics. In Turin she would do better than during the World Championships as her 39.26 in the first race and the 39.33 in the second race were good enough for her to reach the 14th position in the overall rankings. Her total time was 2.02 seconds short of the winner Svetlana Zhurova
.
Alkemade
Alkemade is a former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Before its merger with Jacobswoude, the municipality covered an area of 30.91 km² of which 3.94 km² is water...
, February 21, 1986) is a 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 is specialised in the short distances, over 500 and 1000 metres.
In December 2005 Van der Star tried to qualify herself 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...
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...
over 500 metres. As she was not among the nominated skaters for the distance a top-2 ranking was requested by the Dutch Speed Skating Association to qualify. Eventually Van der Star ended up on the third position behind 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 :...
and Annette Gerritsen
Annette Gerritsen
Annette Gerritsen is a Dutch speed skater. She specialises in the 500 m and 1000 m distances, and won a silver medal in the 1000 metres at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. She is the current Dutch Junior record holder in the 500 m and her personal best used to be the World Junior record...
. As the Dutch had four possible entries in the Olympics at this distance it was said that Van der Star had to show she was capable of getting high rankings in international races and it was requested that she would finish among the best 16 over 500 metres during the World Sprint Championships in 2006. After the first out of two races she was in 15th position and almost sure of qualification. In the second race however, she showed some nerves and had some instable moments during her race, resulting in a slower time compared to the day before. A few riders that were behind her the first day passed her in the ranking, however a few others fell behind on Van der Star and she ended up at exactly the 16th position in the end, which meant she qualified herself for the Olympics. In Turin she would do better than during the World Championships as her 39.26 in the first race and the 39.33 in the second race were good enough for her to reach the 14th position in the overall rankings. Her total time was 2.02 seconds short of the winner Svetlana Zhurova
Svetlana Zhurova
Svetlana Sergeyevna Zhurova is a speed skater from Russia.Zhurova has been competing internationally since 1989, took part in four Olympics, but did not win her first Olympic medal until her fourth Olympics, winning Olympic gold in Turin in 2006, two years after mothering a child. She also became...
.