During the late sixties, "The Golden Years of Speed Skating", new records were
set at an increadible pace, and speed skating became more popular than ever,
especially in the Netherlands. The reasons for this were many, and the direct
TV-coverage of several world championships surely contributed. The main
reason, however, was the skaters themselves. Sovjet speed skating was on the
decline, although Eduard Matusevitsj still was doing fine, but the
Scandinavians and the Dutch were skating like never before.
Norway had skaters like Dag Fornæs, Fred Anton Maier,
Magne Thomassen,
Per Willy Guttormsen and Svein-Erik Stianssen, just to mention a
few, Sweden had Göran Claeson, Johnny Höglin and
Örjan Sandler and the Dutch had Kees Verkerk,
Ard Schenk and Jan Bols. Kees Verkerk became world champion in 1966
and 1967 and european champion in 1967. He also took a gold medal at the 1968
Olympic Games. In 1973 he started, together with Ard Schenk and a dozen other
skaters, a professional career. He later became coach for the Swedish national
team.
Back to other skaters.