The Most Famous

SKATERS from Netherlands

This page contains a list of the greatest Dutch Skaters. The pantheon dataset contains 483 Skaters, 47 of which were born in Netherlands. This makes Netherlands the birth place of the 3rd most number of Skaters behind Russia, and United States.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Dutch Skaters of all time. This list of famous Dutch Skaters is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Dutch Skaters.

1. Sjoukje Dijkstra (1942 - 2024)

With an HPI of 52.35, Sjoukje Dijkstra is the most famous Dutch Skater. Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages on wikipedia.

Sjoukje Rosalinde Dijkstra (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɕʌukjə ˈdɛikstraː]; 28 January 1942 – 2 May 2024) was a Dutch competitive figure skater. She was the 1964 Olympic champion in ladies' singles, the 1960 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (1962–1964), five-time European champion (1960–1964), and the six-time Dutch national champion (1959–1964). She was the first Dutch athlete to win a Winter Olympics gold medal.

2. Ard Schenk (b. 1944)

With an HPI of 50.46, Ard Schenk is the 2nd most famous Dutch Skater. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Adrianus "Ard" Schenk (born 16 September 1944) is a former speed skater from the Netherlands, who is considered to be one of the best in history. His first Olympic success came in 1968, when he won a silver medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics. Between 1970 and 1972 Winter Olympics, Schenk won three consecutive World Allround Speed Skating Championships. He won three gold medals at the 1972 Winter Olympics, becoming, along with Galina Kulakova of Soviet Union, the most successful athlete there.

3. Stien Kaiser (1938 - 2022)

With an HPI of 46.54, Stien Kaiser is the 3rd most famous Dutch Skater. Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Christina ("Stien") Wilhelmina Baas-Kaiser (20 May 1938 – 23 June 2022) was a Dutch speed skater.

4. Wim van der Voort (1923 - 2016)

With an HPI of 45.28, Wim van der Voort is the 4th most famous Dutch Skater. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Willem "Wim" van der Voort (24 March 1923 – 23 October 2016) was a Dutch speed skater. At the 1952 Olympics in Oslo Van der Voort was the silver medalist in the men's 1500 meters, finishing 0.2 seconds behind Hjalmar Andersen of Norway. He received a bronze medal at the 1953 World Allround Championships, and silver medals at the 1951 and 1953 European Championships.

5. Kees Verkerk (b. 1942)

With an HPI of 45.15, Kees Verkerk is the 5th most famous Dutch Skater. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Cornelis Arie "Kees" Verkerk (born 28 October 1942) is a former speed skater from the Netherlands.

6. Kees Broekman (1927 - 1992)

With an HPI of 44.10, Kees Broekman is the 6th most famous Dutch Skater. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Cornelis "Kees" Broekman (2 July 1927 – 8 November 1992) was a Dutch speed skater. At the 1952 Olympics in Oslo Broekman was silver medalist on both the 5000 meter and the 10000 meter, the first ever Winter Olympic medals for the Netherlands. He won a silver medal at the World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Men 1949, and became European champion 1953. In the 1950s Broekman moved to Norway, where he competed until the 1960 Summer Olympics. After the Games he retired to become a speed skating coach, bringing Atje Keulen-Deelstra and Göran Claeson to world titles. He later coached speed skating in Berlin, where he died at age 65. He was an uncle of the Olympic speed skater Stien Kaiser.

7. Petra Burka (b. 1946)

With an HPI of 44.05, Petra Burka is the 7th most famous Dutch Skater. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Petra Burka (; born November 17, 1946) is a Canadian former competitive figure skater and now coach. She won the 1964 Olympic bronze medal in women's figure skating and the 1965 World championship in the sport.

8. Ans Schut (b. 1944)

With an HPI of 43.86, Ans Schut is the 8th most famous Dutch Skater. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Johanna ("Ans") Schut (born 26 November 1944) is a former ice speed skater from the Netherlands. Ans Schut had her best year in 1968 when, after winning silver at the World Allround Championships, she became Olympic Champion on the 3,000 m at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble. Her time of 4:56.2 (a new Olympic record) was an excellent time those days and she won well ahead of Finnish skater Kaija Mustonen and Dutch compatriot Stien Kaiser, the 3,000 m world record holder at the time. In 1969, Schut won silver at the European Allround Championships and bronze at the World Allround Championships. That year, she also skated five world records. The next two years, she fell a few times during international championships (although she did manage to win bronze at the World Allround Championships in 1970). In 1971 she ended her speed skating career, got married, and changed her last name to Boekema-Schut. She has three children.

9. Annie Borckink (b. 1951)

With an HPI of 42.24, Annie Borckink is the 9th most famous Dutch Skater. Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Anna "Annie" Johanna Geertruida Maria Borckink (born 17 October 1951) is a former speed skater from the Netherlands, who represented her native country at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, United States. She won the gold medal in the women's 1500 metres event, with Dutch teammate Ria Visser winning the silver medal. For her performance, Borckink was named Dutch Sportswoman of the year. After retiring from skating she runs a sporting goods store in Dronten. Personal bests: 500 m – 43.3 (1977) 1000 m – 1:25.60 (1980) 1500 m – 2:10.95 (1980) 3000 m – 4:41.75 (1981)

10. Carry Geijssen (b. 1947)

With an HPI of 41.25, Carry Geijssen is the 10th most famous Dutch Skater. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Carolina ("Carry") Cornelia Catharina Geijssen (born 11 January 1947) is a former speed skater from the Netherlands. Carry Geijssen won silver at the Dutch Allround Championships in 1965 (a feat she would repeat in 1967 and 1968). In 1966, she became Dutch Allround Champion. At the 1968 World Allround Championships in Helsinki, she won bronze behind Stien Kaiser and Ans Schut, making the podium entirely Dutch. Geijssen then participated in the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, where she became Olympic Champion on the 1,000 m in a new Olympic record time. This made her the first Dutch Olympic Champion in speed skating in Olympic history. The next day, Ans Schut (on the 3,000 m) would become the second, while Kees Verkerk (on the 1,500 m) would become the third Dutch Olympic Champion in speed skating four days after that. Geijssen went on to win Olympic silver on the 1,500 m, just 0.3 seconds behind winner Kaija Mustonen. After that, Geijssen remained active for several more years, but did not have any more major results. She ended her speed skating career in 1971. She married the cyclist Rien Langkruis, and later lived in Indonesia and Canada. She is the younger sister of speed skater Bep Geijssen.

People

Pantheon has 49 people classified as Dutch skaters born between 1923 and 1997. Of these 49, 43 (87.76%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Dutch skaters include Ard Schenk, Kees Verkerk, and Petra Burka. The most famous deceased Dutch skaters include Sjoukje Dijkstra, Stien Kaiser, and Wim van der Voort. As of April 2024, 2 new Dutch skaters have been added to Pantheon including Ans Schut, and Annette Gerritsen.